Making a living in Oakdale
There are 2,252 jobs in Oakdale for 3,611 working residents. Only 3% stay in Oakdale for work; outside it, Islip is the main destination (32%, 4 miles). Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Oakdale
Oakdale’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oakdale is New York City, 43 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (666) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Oakdale
72% of Oakdale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Oakdale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Oakdale are quick
The average trip to work takes 28 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Oakdale than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Oakdale fell from 3,105 in 2014 to 2,252 in 2024, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How far Oakdale’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What Oakdale’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakdale, 2014 → 2024: 3,105 → 2,252. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oakdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way for Oakdale’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakdale workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,698 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
A workday in Oakdale: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,495 residents head out to work, 116 work right here, and 2,136 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Oakdale on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Oakdale work
Where Oakdale clocks in
32% of workers
18% of workers
11% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
11% of Oakdale works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale | – | — | — | 28 min | $118,958 |
| Great River | under 1% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| West Sayville | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Brookhaven | 11% | A− | A− | 32 min | $120,110 |
| Bohemia | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Sayville | under 1% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Great River, West Sayville, Bohemia and Sayville: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Brookhaven. Darker towns draw more of Oakdale’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Oakdale: questions
What is the median household income in Oakdale?
$118,958 (±$26,320) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakdale?
7.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakdale?
28 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakdale work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Islip (32%, 4 mi), New York City (18%, 42 mi), Brookhaven (11%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Oakdale without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakdale
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.