Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0At 12.2%, unemployment in Burlington is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. The two grades for Burlington are C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers, next to 17% for New Jersey as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Burlington at work: what stands out
Burlington trades workers with the towns around it
Burlington has about as many jobs (4,589) as working residents (5,285), but they are mostly different people: 4,958 residents leave for work each day while 4,262 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Burlington are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Burlington’s commute
The biggest draw, Burlington Township, gets only 7% of working residents, and 60% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Burlington residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Burlington: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burlington is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #417 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Burlington’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burlington could be anywhere from C to B.
How a workday changes Burlington
On a workday 4,958 residents head out to work, 327 work right here, and 4,262 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 (0.87 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 Burlington Township
Where Burlington clocks in
7% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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 Burlington’s employers do
4,589 jobs are based in Burlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 3,625 → 4,589. 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 Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Burlington: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burlington workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,276 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where in the region Burlington works
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: Burlington
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burlington is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #210 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.5% 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 4,658 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, 69% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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 Burlington households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Burlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000, Burlington comes 1,881st 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 22 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,879 | South Ottawa Township IL | 8,299 | $84K | 13.5% | 4.7% | 4% | C+ |
| 1,880 | Batesville IN | 7,401 | $62K | 14.2% | 2.5% | 36% | C+ |
| 1,881 | Burlington NJ | 10,243 | $85K | 16.6% | 12.2% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,882 | Helena Valley Southeast MT | 9,108 | $74K | 8.3% | 4.9% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,883 | Hempstead TX | 7,194 | $60K | 22.6% | 2.4% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Burlington, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Around Burlington: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Burlington Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | – | C+ | A | 31 min | $84,813 |
| Burlington Township | 7% | A− | A | 30 min | $104,067 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burlington’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 Burlington: questions
What is the median household income in Burlington?
$84,813 (±$13,264) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burlington?
16.6%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burlington?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burlington work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington Township (7%, 2 mi), Philadelphia (6%, 16 mi), Trenton (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burlington walkable?
Burlington is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burlington without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 69% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burlington
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.