Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Ridge commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Ridge report 1,729 jobs, and 5,860 of its residents work somewhere. Only 4% stay in Ridge for work; outside it, Brookhaven is the main destination (35%, 5 miles). The average commute takes 36 minutes each way, where New York has 33 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Ridge
Fewer jobs are based in Ridge than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Ridge fell from 5,007 in 2013 to 1,729 in 2023, −65%. 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 ↓
Ridge’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ridge is New York City, 58 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (927) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Ridge is a place people come home to
There are 1,729 jobs based in Ridge, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ridge has about 8,400 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
71% of the jobs in Ridge pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 5,007 → 1,729. 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 Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Ridge commutes
About 21% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Ridge, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 5,647 residents head out to work, 213 work right here, and 1,516 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Ridge on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
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 Ridge’s residents
Where Ridge clocks in
35% of workers
16% of workers
13% 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.
About 36 minutes to work from Ridge
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridge workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,367 commuters (the 18% 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.
How Ridge compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Riverhead (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridge | – | — | — | 36 min | $78,528 |
| East Shoreham | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Middle Island | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Rocky Point | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Riverhead | 6% | B | B+ | 28 min | $94,249 |
| Yaphank | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Wading River | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Calverton | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Shoreham, Middle Island, Rocky Point, Yaphank, Wading River and Calverton: 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 Ridge’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 Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Ridge?
$78,528 (±$13,045) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridge?
4.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridge?
36 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridge work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (35%, 5 mi), New York City (16%, 58 mi), Islip (13%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ridge without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridge
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.