Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Jefferson has higher household incomes than 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 79.0 in New York City. Poverty touches 5.6% of residents; New York has 14.0%. The two grades for Port Jefferson are A for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Port Jefferson and work: the main findings
Port Jefferson and Brookhaven trade workers both ways
Brookhaven is the top workplace for Port Jefferson residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Port Jefferson come from (63% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Port Jefferson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Port Jefferson fell from 6,588 in 2014 to 4,480 in 2024, −32%. 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.
What’s behind Port Jefferson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Port Jefferson is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #70 of 758 in New York. Household income is its strongest input ($144,912, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Port Jefferson could be anywhere from A− to A+.
39% of working residents work in Brookhaven
Where Port Jefferson clocks in
39% of workers
19% of workers
9% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Port Jefferson
4,480 jobs are based in Port Jefferson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Jefferson, 2014 → 2024: 6,588 → 4,480. 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 Port Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Port Jefferson
On a workday 3,208 residents head out to work, 297 work right here, and 4,183 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in Port Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
About 30 minutes each way for Port Jefferson’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Jefferson workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,675 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.
Port Jefferson’s commute, mile by mile
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Port Jefferson is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Port Jefferson is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #238 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Port Jefferson near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,358 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 9% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.1% of Port Jefferson households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Port Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Port Jefferson is 362nd among 3,012 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 360 | Eudora KS | 6,506 | $118K | 4.9% | 2.9% | 12% | A |
| 361 | Smithville MO | 11,160 | $101K | 5.4% | 1.1% | 9% | A |
| 362 | Port Jefferson NY | 8,306 | $145K | 5.6% | 3.3% | 8% | A |
| 363 | Ranchettes WY | 5,949 | $121K | 2.9% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| 364 | Lafayette Township IN | 8,526 | $118K | 2.4% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,012 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Port Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Next door to Port Jefferson
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Jefferson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Jefferson | – | A | A− | 30 min | $144,912 |
| Mount Sinai | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Belle Terre | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| East Setauket | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Port Jefferson Station | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mount Sinai, East Setauket and Port Jefferson Station: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Belle Terre: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Port Jefferson’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 Port Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Port Jefferson?
$144,912 (±$17,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Jefferson?
5.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Jefferson?
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 Port Jefferson work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (39%, 8 mi), New York City (19%, 50 mi), Islip (9%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Port Jefferson walkable?
Port Jefferson is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Jefferson without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Jefferson
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.