Shirley has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
6% of workers have no commute at all, where New York as a whole has 15%. Shirley has 4,654 jobs; 12,511 of its residents have a job. Only 5% work in Shirley; the top destination outside it is Brookhaven (35%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Shirley on a workday
On a workday 11,836 residents head out to work, 675 work right here, and 3,979 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Shirley on a workday afternoon, 28% 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 Shirley goes to work
Where Shirley clocks in
35% of workers
15% 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.
Making and building: 31% of jobs based in Shirley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shirley, 2013 → 2023: 3,942 → 4,654. 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 Shirley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Shirley: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shirley workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,320 commuters (the 7% 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.
Miles to work from Shirley
About 19% 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.
The towns around Shirley
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shirley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirley | – | — | — | 33 min | $112,788 |
| Yaphank | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Mastic Beach | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Mastic | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Manorville | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Yaphank, Mastic Beach, Mastic and Manorville: 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 Shirley’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 Shirley: questions
What is the median household income in Shirley?
$112,788 (±$16,492) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shirley?
6.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shirley?
33 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shirley work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (35%, 6 mi), Islip (15%, 18 mi), New York City (14%, 56 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Shirley 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 Shirley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shirley
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.