Photo: Smallbones · CC BY-SA 3.0Berlin has lower unemployment (2.1%) than 83% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City. Jobs and income earn Berlin A; getting around on foot earns it A. Measured by household income, Berlin is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Berlin apart
Berlin trades workers with the towns around it
Berlin has about as many jobs (3,316) as working residents (3,628), but they are mostly different people: 3,492 residents leave for work each day while 3,180 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Berlin are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Berlin’s commute
The biggest draw, Philadelphia, PA, gets only 7% of working residents, and 53% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Berlin residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Berlin
66% of Berlin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in Berlin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Berlin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (26 to 33 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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.
How Berlin earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Berlin is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #132 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berlin could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
A workday in Berlin: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,492 residents head out to work, 136 work right here, and 3,180 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 (0.91 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.
7% of working residents work in Philadelphia
Where Berlin clocks in
7% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
What the 3,316 jobs in Berlin are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berlin, 2013 → 2023: 3,694 → 3,316. 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 Berlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 36 minutes to work from Berlin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berlin workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,465 commuters (the 11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Berlin
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Berlin
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berlin is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #248 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Berlin 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 3,892 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 5.2% of Berlin households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Berlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,111 U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,300, Berlin comes 457th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 455 | Ahuimanu HI | 8,452 | $135K | 6.4% | 2.6% | 0% | A |
| 456 | Manteno IL | 9,201 | $98K | 3.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A |
| 457 | Berlin NJ | 7,628 | $103K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| 458 | Hinckley Township OH | 8,237 | $137K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 5% | A |
| 459 | Montvale NJ | 10,113 | $178K | 4.0% | 5.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,111 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Berlin, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Berlin
The biggest share goes to Winslow Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berlin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | – | A | A | 36 min | $102,855 |
| Winslow Township | 3% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $99,093 |
| Berlin Township | 3% | B | A | 33 min | $75,238 |
| West Berlin | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Pine Hill | under 3% | C+ | A− | 32 min | $72,588 |
| Atco | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Lindenwold | under 3% | C+ | A | 26 min | $55,954 |
| Waterford Township | under 3% | B+ | B− | 33 min | $111,791 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Berlin and Atco: 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 Berlin’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 Berlin: questions
What is the median household income in Berlin?
$102,855 (±$14,479) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berlin?
8.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berlin?
36 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berlin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (7%, 18 mi), Voorhees Township (7%, 4 mi), Cherry Hill Township (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berlin walkable?
Berlin is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berlin without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berlin
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.