Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes put Chester Township near the very top of U.S. towns
2.0% of residents are in poverty, against 9.7% across New Jersey. Measured by household income, Chester Township is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Chester Township grades A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Chester Township stands out on work
No single place dominates Chester Township’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 5% of working residents, and 68% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Chester Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Chester Township
28% of Chester Township workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Chester Township pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Chester Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Chester Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chester Township is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #228 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Chester Township’s grade up ($241,856, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (9.1%, 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, Chester Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
5% of working residents work in New York City
Where Chester Township clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
How long Chester Township spends getting to work: 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 Chester Township workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,582 commuters (the 28% 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.
72% of the jobs in Chester Township pay over $3,333 a month
1,928 jobs are based in Chester Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester Township, 2014 → 2024: 1,706 → 1,928. 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 Chester Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Chester Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,354 residents head out to work, 125 work right here, and 1,803 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Chester Township on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.55 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 2024, primary jobs.
How far it is to work from Chester Township
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.
The commute in Chester Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chester Township is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #440 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Chester Township 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 3,562 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.0% of Chester Township households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chester Township is 727th of 2,983 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,500 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 725 | Lancaster MA | 9,161 | $135K | 1.4% | 6.9% | 4% | A− |
| 726 | Grosse Ile Township MI | 10,409 | $127K | 4.1% | 4.6% | 8% | A− |
| 727 | Chester Township NJ | 7,795 | $242K | 2.0% | 9.1% | 4% | A− |
| 728 | Four Corners MT | 5,791 | $101K | 6.3% | 0.5% | 10% | A− |
| 729 | Haddam CT | 8,947 | $114K | 4.8% | 4.5% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,983 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Chester Township, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Around Chester Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Randolph Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | – | A− | C+ | 31 min | $241,856 |
| Randolph Township | 2% | A | B+ | 30 min | $175,000 |
| Washington Township | under 2% | A | C | 35 min | $165,651 |
| Mendham Township | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 44 min | $250,000+ |
| Succasunna | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Mount Olive Township | under 2% | A− | B | 32 min | $117,394 |
| Bedminster Township | under 2% | A | A− | 33 min | $123,709 |
| Tewksbury Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 41 min | $192,576 |
| Roxbury Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 33 min | $134,519 |
| Pottersville | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Succasunna and Pottersville: 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 Chester Township’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 Chester Township: questions
What is the median household income in Chester Township?
$241,856 (±$20,424) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester Township?
2.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (5%, 40 mi), Morristown (4%, 11 mi), Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Chester Township walkable?
Chester Township is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chester Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chester Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chester Township
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.