Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Bound Brook works elsewhere
2,312 jobs are based in Bound Brook, against 5,729 working residents. Bound Brook grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Bound Brook apart on work
No single place dominates Bound Brook’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 6% of working residents, and 62% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Bound Brook residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Bound Brook are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker. 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.
The four measures behind Bound Brook’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bound Brook is better than 72% of U.S. towns, #296 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Bound Brook’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bound Brook could be anywhere from B− to A.
6% of working residents work in New York City
Where Bound Brook clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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 Bound Brook: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bound Brook workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,407 commuters (the 9% 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.
Who commutes out of Bound Brook, and who commutes in
On a workday 5,527 residents head out to work, 202 work right here, and 2,110 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,600 people are in Bound Brook on a workday afternoon, 26% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Bound Brook
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bound Brook, 2013 → 2023: 2,159 → 2,312. 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 Bound Brook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Bound Brook’s workers travel
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: Bound Brook
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bound Brook is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #158 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Bound Brook 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 7,010 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, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 8.4% of Bound Brook households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bound Brook’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bound Brook next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000: 1,002nd of 2,526 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,000 | Progress Village FL | 10,450 | $89K | 7.4% | 4.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,001 | Murrells Inlet SC | 10,044 | $77K | 7.3% | 2.0% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,002 | Bound Brook NJ | 13,038 | $91K | 11.1% | 4.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,003 | Waterford Township NJ | 10,562 | $112K | 8.0% | 5.7% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,004 | Mascotte FL | 10,150 | $84K | 4.6% | 1.5% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Bound Brook, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Bound Brook compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Bridgewater Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bound Brook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound Brook | – | B+ | A+ | 24 min | $90,571 |
| Bridgewater Township | 6% | A | A− | 31 min | $172,851 |
| Martinsville | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Middlesex | under 3% | A− | A− | 26 min | $105,000 |
| Finderne | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| South Bound Brook | under 3% | B | A | 26 min | $112,961 |
Same-state neighbors only. Martinsville and Finderne: 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 Bound Brook’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 Bound Brook: questions
What is the median household income in Bound Brook?
$90,571 (±$9,442) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bound Brook?
11.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bound Brook?
24 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bound Brook work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (6%, 32 mi), Bridgewater Township (6%, 4 mi), Franklin Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bound Brook walkable?
Bound Brook is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bound Brook without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bound Brook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bound Brook
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.