Washington Heights has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Home is the office for 2% of workers, next to 15% for New York as a whole. Washington Heights has 524 jobs for 915 working residents. Only 1% stay in Washington Heights for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (20%, 61 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Washington Heights, in brief
Washington Heights’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Washington Heights is New York City, 61 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (185) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
57% of the jobs in Washington Heights are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 915 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far it is to work from Washington Heights
About 33% 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.
The kinds of work in Washington Heights
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington Heights, 2014 → 2024: 499 → 524. 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 Washington Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Washington Heights for work, and who comes in
On a workday 902 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 511 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Washington Heights on a workday afternoon, 16% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Washington Heights ends
Where Washington Heights clocks in
20% of workers
18% 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.
A commute of about 30 minutes in Washington Heights
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington Heights workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,051 commuters (the 2% 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 Washington Heights compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Middletown (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Heights | – | — | — | 30 min | $81,686 |
| Middletown | 8% | C+ | A | 36 min | $79,346 |
| Mechanicstown | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mechanicstown: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Washington Heights’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 Washington Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Washington Heights?
$81,686 (±$37,251) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington Heights?
13.3%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington Heights?
30 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington Heights work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (20%, 61 mi), Wallkill (18%, 1 mi), Middletown (8%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Washington Heights without a car?
10% 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 Washington Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington Heights
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.