Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0Setauket has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
968 jobs are based in Setauket, against 1,846 working residents. Only 5% work in Setauket; the top destination outside it is Brookhaven (35%, 11 miles). 22% of workers have no commute at all, against 15% across New York.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Setauket: the figures worth knowing
Setauket’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Setauket is New York City, 48 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (316) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Setauket are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The distance from Setauket to work
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.
Commuting from Setauket: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Setauket workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,630 commuters (the 22% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Setauket
On a workday 1,757 residents head out to work, 89 work right here, and 879 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Setauket on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
Where the trip to work from Setauket ends
Where Setauket clocks in
35% of workers
17% of workers
14% 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.
Jobs in Setauket: what the 968 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Setauket, 2013 → 2023: 1,090 → 968. 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 Setauket’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Setauket and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Setauket workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setauket | – | — | — | 26 min | $221,771 |
| Old Field | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| East Setauket | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Stony Brook | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Poquott | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Stony Brook University | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Old Field and Poquott: not graded. East Setauket, Stony Brook and Stony Brook University: 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 Setauket’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 Setauket: questions
What is the median household income in Setauket?
$221,771 (±$29,533) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Setauket?
6.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Setauket?
26 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Setauket work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (35%, 11 mi), New York City (17%, 48 mi), Islip (14%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Setauket without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Setauket, from the people who make the trip.
More of Setauket
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.