Photo: Dwainwr123 at English Wikipedia · Public domainMore people are out of work in Buena (11.4%) than in 96% of U.S. towns
Buena grades B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. 4% of workers have no commute at all, against 17% across New Jersey. Only 6% stay in Buena for work; outside it, Vineland is the main destination (25%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Buena stands out on work
Buena and Vineland trade workers both ways
Vineland is the top workplace for Buena residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Buena come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Buena workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 Buena earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buena is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #412 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Buena’s grade up (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buena could be anywhere from C to A−.
Commuting out of Buena: the destinations
Where Buena clocks in
25% 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 Buena: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buena workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,993 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.
The daily commute in and out of Buena
On a workday 1,739 residents head out to work, 103 work right here, and 650 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Buena on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
Jobs in Buena: what the 753 are
753 jobs are based in Buena.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buena, 2013 → 2023: 571 → 753. 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 Buena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Buena’s commute, mile by mile
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.
For most of Buena, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buena is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #448 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 2,071 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 6.5% of Buena households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Buena’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Buena ranks: 2,187th of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 5 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,185 | Tice FL | 4,758 | $54K | 19.4% | 2.1% | 2% | B− |
| 2,186 | Sugar Creek MO | 3,209 | $62K | 14.6% | 4.8% | 3% | B− |
| 2,187 | Buena NJ | 4,529 | $80K | 8.7% | 11.4% | 6% | B− |
| 2,188 | Hicksville OH | 3,427 | $63K | 4.3% | 6.4% | 29% | B− |
| 2,189 | Dunleith Township IL | 3,487 | $70K | 8.2% | 5.3% | 16% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Buena, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Buena and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Buena Vista Township (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena | – | B− | C | 31 min | $79,697 |
| Buena Vista Township | 2% | B | C+ | 38 min | $87,581 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buena’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 Buena: questions
What is the median household income in Buena?
$79,697 (±$15,214) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buena?
8.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buena?
31 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 Buena work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vineland (25%, 5 mi), Atlantic City (4%, 28 mi), Millville (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buena walkable?
Buena is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buena without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buena
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.