Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Boonton top those of 86% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Boonton for work; outside it, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township is the main destination (7%, 3 miles). 8.1% of residents are in poverty, where New Jersey as a whole has 9.7%. Jobs and income earn Boonton B+; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Boonton
No single place dominates Boonton’s commute
The biggest draw, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, gets only 7% of working residents, and 64% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Boonton residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Boonton are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker, and quicker than any town next door (26 to 34 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.
Income, poverty and work: Boonton’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Boonton is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #294 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Boonton’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.9%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Boonton could be anywhere from B to A+.
Commuting out of Boonton: the destinations
Where Boonton clocks in
7% of workers
6% of workers
3% 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 trip to work from Boonton: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boonton workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,713 commuters (the 20% 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.
Boonton quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,301 residents head out to work, 276 work right here, and 2,648 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,300 people are in Boonton on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.64 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The 2,924 jobs based in Boonton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boonton, 2013 → 2023: 2,877 → 2,924. 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 Boonton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Boonton goes to work
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.
Driving is how Boonton gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Boonton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #356 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 13.2% across New Jersey.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,644 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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 Boonton households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Boonton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000, Boonton ranks 1,025th of 2,907 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Old Tappan NJ | 6,686 | $205K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,023 | Geneseo NY | 10,437 | $66K | 24.8% | 7.6% | 14% | B+ |
| 1,024 | South Monrovia Island CA | 6,830 | $104K | 7.2% | 6.9% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,025 | Boonton NJ | 8,920 | $114K | 8.1% | 6.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,026 | Mentor-on-the-Lake OH | 7,120 | $67K | 8.5% | 1.9% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,027 | Brooklyn CT | 8,748 | $96K | 2.3% | 4.2% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | 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 Boonton, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Boonton and its neighbors: 10% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boonton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boonton | – | B+ | B+ | 22 min | $114,302 |
| Parsippany-Troy Hills Township | 7% | A | A | 28 min | $112,327 |
| Mountain Lakes | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $250,000+ |
| Montville Township | 3% | A+ | A | 33 min | $169,083 |
| Boonton Township | under 2% | A | B− | 26 min | $192,188 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Parsippany-Troy Hills Township. Darker towns draw more of Boonton’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 Boonton: questions
What is the median household income in Boonton?
$114,302 (±$23,372) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boonton?
8.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boonton?
22 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boonton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (7%, 3 mi), New York City (6%, 30 mi), Morristown (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boonton walkable?
Boonton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boonton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boonton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boonton
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.