Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Yaphank
Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers, against 15% across New York. Only 4% work in Yaphank itself; outside it, Brookhaven draws the most (35%, 2 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 32 minutes, 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
Jobs and commuting in Yaphank: the gist
Yaphank is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Yaphank (Shirley, Middle Island, North Bellport, Medford and Ridge) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Yaphank has 1.7 per resident. Next door ↓
Yaphank and Islip trade workers both ways
Islip is the top workplace for Yaphank residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Yaphank come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Yaphank has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Yaphank went from 3,397 in 2013 to 4,989 in 2023, +47%. The jobs ↓
Yaphank makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in Yaphank are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Yaphank residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 13%. The jobs ↓
The biggest group of Yaphank’s workers comes from Islip
602 of the people who work in Yaphank live in Islip, 16 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Commuting in to Yaphank: where workers come from
Where Yaphank 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.
Goods, not services: 39% of the jobs in Yaphank
4,989 jobs are based in Yaphank.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Yaphank, 2013 → 2023: 3,397 → 4,989. 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 Yaphank’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Yaphank
On a workday 2,820 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 4,865 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,000 people are in Yaphank on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Yaphank takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Yaphank workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,762 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where in the region Yaphank works
About 17% 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 Yaphank
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Yaphank workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yaphank | – | — | — | 32 min | $108,971 |
| Shirley | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Middle Island | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| North Bellport | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Medford | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Ridge | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Shirley, Middle Island, North Bellport, Medford and Ridge: 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 Yaphank’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 Yaphank: questions
What is the median household income in Yaphank?
$108,971 (±$23,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Yaphank?
4.1%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Yaphank?
32 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Yaphank work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookhaven (35%, 2 mi), Islip (16%, 16 mi), New York City (13%, 54 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Yaphank without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Yaphank, from the people who make the trip.
More of Yaphank
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.