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Green Street eb from ped bridge, Columbia, NJ, Feb. 2024Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Jobs & commute in Columbia

Where Columbia earns its living

Working from home is the commute for 10% of workers, where New Jersey as a whole has 17%. Hardly any stay in Columbia for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (8%, 63 miles). Employers in Columbia report 68 jobs; 88 of its residents have a job.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

68 jobs based here
Household income
$74K
median · New Jersey $104K
Poverty
9.5%
New Jersey 9.7%
Unemployment
0.0%
New Jersey 6.3% · U.S. 5.2%
Work in town
0%
0 of 88 working residents
Work from home
10%
New Jersey 17% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

Columbia by day and by night

On a workday 88 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 68 people come in from elsewhere.

88live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
68work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night170
Workday150
170live here− 88head out to work+ 68come in to work= 150on a workday

About 150 people are in Columbia on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.77jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.

The commute map

Out of Columbia to work: where people go

Alpha: 2 residents work here (2%)PhillipsburgNewton: 4 residents work here (5%)Hackettstown: 3 residents work here (3%)Trenton: 3 residents work here (3%)New York: 7 residents work here (8%)PortlandWind GapBangorRaritan Township: 2 residents work here (2%)Denville Township: 2 residents work here (2%)Washington Township: 3 residents work here (3%)Knowlton TownshipBlairstown Township: 4 residents work here (5%)Piscataway Township: 3 residents work here (3%)Hope TownshipLiberty TownshipMiddle Smithfield TownshipSmithfield TownshipStroud TownshipUpper Mount Bethel TownshipColumbiaNew YorkNewtonBlairstown TownshipHackettstownTrentonWashington TownshipColumbia
1
New York City, NY63.1 mi away
8%7
2
Newton19.8 mi away
5%4
3
Blairstown Township6.3 mi away
5%4
4
Hackettstown14.9 mi away
3%3
5
Trenton51.5 mi away
3%3
6
Washington Township18.3 mi away
3%3
7
Piscataway Township42.3 mi away
3%3
8
Alpha18.7 mi away
2%2
9
Raritan Township28.2 mi away
2%2
10
Denville Township31.7 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
63%55
The top trips

Where Columbia clocks in

8% of workers
63.1 mi awayNew York City, NY7 Columbia residents work here · Jobs & commute →
5% of workers
19.8 mi awayNewton4 Columbia residents work here · Jobs & commute →
5% of workers
6.3 mi awayBlairstown Township4 Columbia residents work here · Jobs & commute →

Lines 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 jobs

69% of the jobs in Columbia pay over $3,333 a month

Jobs based in ColumbiaJobs Columbia residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%14%
Trade, transport & utilities50%23%
Services: health, schools, offices50%64%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less6%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%15%
Over $3,333 a month69%70%

Who does it

29 or younger12%19%
30 to 5450%50%
55 and older38%31%
−23%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 88 → 68. 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 Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Working from home in Columbia

Working from home
10%

of Columbia workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Columbia gets to work
75%Drive alone
12%Carpool
12%Other

Share of the 64 commuters (the 10% 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.

How far

How many miles Columbia commutes

10 mi25 mi50 mi75 miNew York City: 8% · 63.1 miNewton: 5% · 19.8 miBlairstown Township: 5% · 6.3 miHackettstown: 3% · 14.9 miTrenton: 3% · 51.5 miWashington Township: 3% · 18.3 miPiscataway Township: 3% · 42.3 miAlpha: 2% · 18.7 miRaritan Township: 2% · 28.2 miDenville Township: 2% · 31.7 miNew York City 8%Newton 5%Blairstown Township 5%Hackettstown 3%Trenton 3%Columbia
ColumbiaTop destinations (size = commuters)
13%Under 10 mi11 residents
33%10–24 mi29 residents
28%25–50 mi25 residents
26%Over 50 mi23 residents

About 26% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

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.

Next door

How Columbia compares with the towns next door

Portland: few work herePortlandColumbia
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%
Portlandunder 3% of Columbia

Jobs & commute next door

TownColumbia workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Columbia–———$74,125

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Columbia’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Columbia: questions

What is the median household income in Columbia?

$74,125 (±$34,992) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Columbia?

9.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Columbia work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (8%, 63 mi), Newton (5%, 20 mi), Blairstown Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Columbia without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Columbia, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Columbia

Columbia home →
$462Ktypical home
HousingLive where you work?Home values, rent & the market in Columbia
HandbookGetting around ColumbiaRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in NJShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.