Photo: LTwomey02 · CC BY-SA 3.0Clayton has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B: better than 61% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #361 of 468 in New Jersey.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns · #294 of 468 in New Jersey.
Household incomes here are higher than in 68% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 32 minutes each way (New Jersey 31, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Clayton; the top destination outside it is Philadelphia (6%, 24 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.5 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Clayton
No single place dominates Clayton’s commute
The biggest draw, Philadelphia, PA, gets only 6% of working residents, and 63% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Clayton residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Clayton empties out on a workday
About 6,100 people are in Clayton on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than the 9,000 who live here: 4,000 head out to work and 1,100 come in. Day and night ↓
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 Clayton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clayton is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #361 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Clayton’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.2%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Clayton could be anywhere from C+ to A.
6% of working residents work in Philadelphia
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Clayton clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Clayton quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,037 residents head out to work, 178 work right here, and 1,125 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Clayton on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.31 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.
What the 1,303 jobs in Clayton are
1,303 jobs are based in Clayton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clayton, 2013 → 2023: 1,104 → 1,303. 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.
About 32 minutes each way, about the NJ average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clayton workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,189 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.
Half of Clayton commutes less than 16 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Clayton 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, Clayton is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #294 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 3,592 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 63% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 45% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 4.4% of Clayton households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Clayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Clayton is 1,412th of 2,891 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,200 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Clayton, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Old Tappan NJ | 6,686 | $205K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,410 | Geneseo NY | 7,759 | $47K | 36.6% | 10.2% | 11% | B |
| 1,411 | Morris Township IL | 7,356 | $74K | 10.4% | 3.4% | 14% | B |
| 1,412 | Clayton NJ | 9,041 | $90K | 8.0% | 7.2% | 4% | B |
| 1,413 | Woodside Township IL | 11,300 | $73K | 11.6% | 3.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,414 | Perry Township IN | 7,046 | $73K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 15% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,891 | 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.
Clayton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Glassboro (4%). Darker towns draw more of Clayton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clayton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | – | B | A− | 32 min | $90,274 |
| Elk Township | under 3% | A− | C+ | 28 min | $141,382 |
| Glassboro | 4% | B− | A+ | 28 min | $87,278 |
| Franklin Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 29 min | $110,197 |
| Monroe Township | 3% | B | A− | 32 min | $96,980 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Clayton: questions
What is the median household income in Clayton?
$90,274 (±$22,351) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clayton?
8.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clayton?
32 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 Clayton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (6%, 24 mi), Washington Township (6%, 6 mi), Vineland (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clayton walkable?
Clayton is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clayton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 45% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clayton
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.