Photo: LCM247 · CC BY-SA 4.0Where Pearl River earns its living
About one in ten stay in Pearl River for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (28%, 28 miles). The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average (New York 33, U.S. 26). Pearl River has 8,474 jobs, and 7,399 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Pearl River: the gist
Pearl River trades workers with the towns around it
Pearl River has about as many jobs (8,474) as working residents (7,399), but they are mostly different people: 6,671 residents leave for work each day while 7,746 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Pearl River are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Pearl River and New York City trade workers both ways
New York City is the top workplace for Pearl River residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Pearl River come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Pearl River makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Pearl River are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Pearl River residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 10%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Pearl River pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Pearl River pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How a workday changes Pearl River
On a workday 6,671 residents head out to work, 728 work right here, and 7,746 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Pearl River’s residents
Where Pearl River clocks in
28% of workers
17% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 37% of the jobs in Pearl River
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pearl River, 2013 → 2023: 9,158 → 8,474. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pearl River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Pearl River: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pearl River workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,540 commuters (the 16% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Pearl River
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Pearl River and its neighbors: 16% work next door
The biggest share goes to Clarkstown (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pearl River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl River | – | — | — | 30 min | $145,063 |
| Blauvelt | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Clarkstown | 11% | A− | A | 32 min | $136,883 |
| Tappan | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Nanuet | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Chestnut Ridge | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $111,725 |
| Ramapo | 5% | B− | A | 26 min | $82,463 |
| West Nyack | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Blauvelt, Tappan, Nanuet and West Nyack: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pearl River’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 2023, 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 Pearl River: questions
What is the median household income in Pearl River?
$145,063 (±$14,866) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pearl River?
7.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pearl River?
30 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pearl River work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (28%, 28 mi), Orangetown (17%, 3 mi), Clarkstown (11%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pearl River without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pearl River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pearl River
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.