Photo: Smallbones · Public domainHouseholds in Bridgeton have lower incomes than those in 80% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. Poverty touches 27.2% of residents; New Jersey has 9.7%. For jobs and income Bridgeton is better than 20% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Bridgeton, in brief
Income, poverty and work: Bridgeton’s grade explained
Job access by car holds Bridgeton’s grade up (ahead of 59% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bridgeton could be anywhere from D to C+.
About 29 minutes each way, about the NJ average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bridgeton workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,469 commuters (the 4% 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 leaves Bridgeton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 6,568 residents head out to work, 1,036 work right here, and 4,928 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 (0.78 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.
13% of working residents work in Vineland
Where Bridgeton clocks in
13% 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.
What the 5,964 jobs in Bridgeton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bridgeton, 2013 → 2023: 6,830 → 5,964. 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 Bridgeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Bridgeton to work
About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Bridgeton
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,902 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 14.6% of Bridgeton households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bridgeton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bridgeton and other U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,305 | Galesburg IL | 28,581 | $48K | 19.1% | 5.0% | 40% | C− |
| 1,306 | Frankfort KY | 28,657 | $53K | 19.1% | 7.8% | 34% | C− |
| 1,307 | Bridgeton NJ | 28,307 | $56K | 27.2% | 5.8% | 14% | C− |
| 1,308 | Galesburg City Township IL | 28,581 | $48K | 19.1% | 5.0% | 40% | C− |
| 1,309 | Trotwood OH | 23,190 | $50K | 21.5% | 8.6% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Bridgeton, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Bridgeton
The biggest share goes to Upper Deerfield Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bridgeton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeton | – | C− | A− | 29 min | $55,781 |
| Fairfield Township | under 2% | C | C+ | 25 min | $60,929 |
| Hopewell Township | 2% | B+ | B+ | 22 min | $100,202 |
| Upper Deerfield Township | 6% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $82,946 |
| Sunset Lake | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Gouldtown | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sunset Lake and Gouldtown: 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 Bridgeton’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 Bridgeton: questions
What is the median household income in Bridgeton?
$55,781 (±$7,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bridgeton?
27.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bridgeton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bridgeton work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vineland (13%, 13 mi), Upper Deerfield Township (6%, 5 mi), Millville (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bridgeton walkable?
Bridgeton is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bridgeton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bridgeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bridgeton
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.