Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0Belle Mead has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For 36% of workers, the job is at home, next to 17% for New Jersey as a whole. 709 jobs are based in Belle Mead, against 2,846 working residents. Only 1% work in Belle Mead itself; outside it, Montgomery Township draws the most (6%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Belle Mead and work: the main findings
Fewer jobs are based in Belle Mead than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Belle Mead fell from 1,677 in 2014 to 709 in 2024, −58%. 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 ↓
A lot of Belle Mead works from home
36% of Belle Mead workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Belle Mead’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 6% of working residents, and 59% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Belle Mead residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Belle Mead workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Belle Mead
79% of Belle Mead residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 58% of the jobs based in Belle Mead pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
The kinds of work in Belle Mead
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belle Mead, 2014 → 2024: 1,677 → 709. 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 Belle Mead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 38 minutes in Belle Mead
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belle Mead workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,194 commuters (the 36% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Out of Belle Mead to work: where people go
Where Belle Mead clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Belle Mead by day and by night
On a workday 2,816 residents head out to work, 30 work right here, and 679 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Belle Mead 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 2024, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from Belle Mead
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 towns around Belle Mead
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belle Mead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Mead | – | — | — | 38 min | $223,250 |
| Blackwells Mills | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Harlingen | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Blackwells Mills and Harlingen: 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 Belle Mead’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 Belle Mead: questions
What is the median household income in Belle Mead?
$223,250 (±$10,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belle Mead?
3.3%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belle Mead?
38 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belle Mead work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montgomery Township (6%, 3 mi), New York City (6%, 40 mi), Hillsborough Township (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Belle Mead without a car?
7% 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 Belle Mead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belle Mead
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.