Dusenberry House · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Chatham’s
Measured by household income, Chatham is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Below the poverty line: 2.2% of residents, against 9.7% across New Jersey. The two grades for Chatham are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Chatham at work: what stands out
Chatham trades workers with the towns around it
Chatham has about as many jobs (3,451) as working residents (3,704), but they are mostly different people: 3,521 residents leave for work each day while 3,268 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Chatham are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Chatham
37% of Chatham workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Chatham workers cross into New York
20% of Chatham workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Chatham workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Chatham’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chatham is New York City, NY, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (479) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
What’s behind Chatham’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chatham is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #73 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Chatham’s grade up ($241,500, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chatham could be anywhere from A to A+.
Who commutes out of Chatham, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,521 residents head out to work, 183 work right here, and 3,268 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 (0.93 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.
Each way, about 39 minutes from Chatham
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chatham workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,871 commuters (the 37% 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.
13% of working residents work in New York City
Where Chatham clocks in
13% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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 distance from Chatham to work
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.
Services make up most of the work in Chatham
3,451 jobs are based in Chatham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chatham, 2013 → 2023: 3,694 → 3,451. 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 Chatham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Chatham
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chatham is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #83 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Chatham 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 4,528 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 79% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 2.8% of Chatham households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 28% of Chatham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chatham next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 264th of 2,878 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 262 | Troy IL | 11,893 | $112K | 2.0% | 3.1% | 8% | A |
| 263 | Haddon Heights NJ | 7,609 | $133K | 2.5% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 264 | Chatham NJ | 10,027 | $242K | 2.2% | 5.2% | 5% | A |
| 265 | Fairlawn OH | 7,815 | $97K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 7% | A |
| 266 | Granville Township OH | 10,701 | $136K | 5.1% | 2.1% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Chatham, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Chatham compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Summit (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chatham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | – | A | A+ | 39 min | $241,500 |
| Summit | 3% | A | A+ | 34 min | $190,304 |
| Millburn Township | under 3% | A+ | A+ | 42 min | $250,000+ |
| Chatham Township | 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Florham Park | 3% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $158,696 |
Same-state neighbors only. Chatham Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chatham’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 Chatham: questions
What is the median household income in Chatham?
$241,500 (±$23,775) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chatham?
2.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chatham?
39 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 37% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chatham work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (13%, 24 mi), Morristown (3%, 6 mi), Florham Park (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chatham walkable?
Chatham is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 30% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chatham without a car?
28% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chatham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chatham
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.