Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0At 6.6%, unemployment in Belmar is higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. The two grades for Belmar are B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Only 6% work in Belmar itself; outside it, Wall Township draws the most (8%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Belmar apart
Jobs in Belmar have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Belmar went from 1,026 in 2013 to 2,455 in 2023, +139%. The jobs ↓
Belmar trades workers with the towns around it
Belmar has about as many jobs (2,455) as working residents (2,556), but they are mostly different people: 2,392 residents leave for work each day while 2,291 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Belmar are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Belmar’s commute
The biggest draw, Wall Township, gets only 8% of working residents, and 64% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Belmar residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Belmar is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 5% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
The four measures behind Belmar’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belmar is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #336 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Belmar’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belmar could be anywhere from B− to A.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
2,455 jobs are based in Belmar.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belmar, 2013 → 2023: 1,026 → 2,455. 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 Belmar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Belmar by day and by night
On a workday 2,392 residents head out to work, 164 work right here, and 2,291 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Belmar to work: where people go
Where Belmar clocks in
8% 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.
The daily trip from Belmar: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belmar workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,694 commuters (the 17% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Belmar
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.
Belmar is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belmar is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #80 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Belmar near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,232 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.0% of Belmar households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Belmar’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,357th of 3,432: where Belmar ranks among U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,355 | Goshen Township OH | 5,496 | $65K | 7.9% | 1.6% | 4% | B |
| 1,356 | Tara Hills CA | 4,840 | $102K | 8.6% | 7.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,357 | Belmar NJ | 5,853 | $94K | 7.7% | 6.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,358 | Clover SC | 7,659 | $85K | 8.3% | 4.8% | 10% | B |
| 1,359 | Moyock NC | 5,684 | $115K | 6.8% | 2.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Belmar, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door is work for 12% of Belmar
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belmar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmar | – | B | A+ | 32 min | $93,573 |
| Neptune Township | 4% | B | A | 26 min | $101,017 |
| Avon-by-the-Sea | under 2% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $122,635 |
| Shark River Hills | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Wall Township | 8% | A | A− | 27 min | $142,768 |
| West Belmar | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Lake Como | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $82,045 |
| Spring Lake | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $215,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Shark River Hills and West Belmar: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wall Township. Darker towns draw more of Belmar’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 Belmar: questions
What is the median household income in Belmar?
$93,573 (±$12,493) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belmar?
7.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belmar?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belmar work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wall Township (8%, 4 mi), New York City (6%, 34 mi), Neptune Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belmar walkable?
Belmar is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belmar without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belmar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belmar
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.