Photo: Jared Kofsky/Placenj.com · CC BY-SA 4.0Carteret has higher unemployment (10.1%) than 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Carteret for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (9%, 16 miles). Jobs and income earn Carteret B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Carteret
Carteret trades workers with the towns around it
Carteret has about as many jobs (11,325) as working residents (10,902), but they are mostly different people: 9,875 residents leave for work each day while 10,298 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Carteret are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
65% of the jobs in Carteret are in trade, transport and utilities, against 31% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Carteret has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Carteret went from 7,260 in 2014 to 11,325 in 2024, +56%. The jobs ↓
Carteret draws workers from far and wide
The 11,325 jobs in Carteret are filled from a wide area. Carteret’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Carteret’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carteret is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #334 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Carteret’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Carteret could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Carteret by day and by night
On a workday 9,875 residents head out to work, 1,027 work right here, and 10,298 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 (1.04 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
What work there is in Carteret: 11,325 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carteret, 2014 → 2024: 7,260 → 11,325. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Carteret’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Carteret goes to work
Where Carteret clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Time on the road from Carteret: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carteret workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,876 commuters (the 11% 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 distance from Carteret to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Carteret is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carteret is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #124 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Carteret 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 12,228 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 51% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 9.0% of Carteret households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Carteret’s commuters take a bus or train.
834th of 1,576: where Carteret ranks among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 832 | Midway FL | 21,317 | $96K | 6.9% | 3.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 833 | Muhlenberg Township PA | 22,504 | $88K | 7.6% | 5.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 834 | Carteret NJ | 25,781 | $97K | 8.2% | 10.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 835 | Mauldin SC | 31,465 | $82K | 8.4% | 4.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 836 | University City MO | 34,657 | $81K | 14.5% | 3.8% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | 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 Carteret, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work next door: 19% of Carteret’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carteret workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret | – | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $96,862 |
| Woodbridge Township | 8% | A− | A+ | 33 min | $108,928 |
| Avenel | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Linden | 2% | B | A+ | 32 min | $92,915 |
| Port Reading | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Avenel and Port Reading: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New York. Darker towns draw more of Carteret’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 2024, 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 Carteret: questions
What is the median household income in Carteret?
$96,862 (±$15,768) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carteret?
8.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carteret?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carteret work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (9%, 16 mi), Woodbridge Township (8%, 4 mi), Edison Township (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Carteret walkable?
Carteret is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carteret without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 51% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carteret, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carteret
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.