Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0At 9.2%, unemployment in East Orange is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 73% of U.S. towns. The two grades for East Orange are C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. 10% of workers work from home (New Jersey 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in East Orange: the gist
Short distances, slow trips
Half of East Orange’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 35 minutes, longer than the New Jersey average of 31. Time on the road ↓
East Orange and Newark trade workers both ways
Newark is the top workplace for East Orange residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in East Orange come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in East Orange is services
85% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. 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 East Orange’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, East Orange is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #437 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds East Orange’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Orange could be anywhere from C to C+.
The daily trip from East Orange: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Orange workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,148 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.
16% of working residents work in Newark
Where East Orange clocks in
16% of workers
11% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in East Orange
13,504 jobs are based in East Orange.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Orange, 2014 → 2024: 14,357 → 13,504. 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 East Orange’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of East Orange
On a workday 25,824 residents head out to work, 2,094 work right here, and 11,410 people come in from elsewhere.
About 58,000 people are in East Orange on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.48 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.
Short hops and long hauls from East Orange
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.
East Orange is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, East Orange is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #41 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place East Orange 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 32,274 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 73% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 20.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 32.9% of East Orange households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 23% of East Orange’s commuters take a bus or train.
How East Orange ranks: 486th of 594 U.S. towns of 51,000 to 97,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Wayne Township NJ | 54,819 | $153K | 3.4% | 4.9% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Hoboken NJ | 59,027 | $181K | 7.8% | 3.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Parsippany-Troy Hills Township NJ | 56,633 | $112K | 4.8% | 5.4% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 484 | Joliet Township IL | 86,200 | $64K | 18.4% | 7.2% | 15% | C+ |
| 485 | Chicopee MA | 55,310 | $63K | 17.3% | 6.3% | 16% | C+ |
| 486 | East Orange NJ | 72,159 | $61K | 16.4% | 9.2% | 8% | C |
| 487 | Portsmouth VA | 96,777 | $60K | 17.3% | 6.6% | 18% | C |
| 488 | Stonecrest GA | 61,337 | $65K | 16.7% | 8.6% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 594 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 East Orange, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
16% of East Orange works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Orange workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Orange | – | C | A+ | 35 min | $60,830 |
| Newark | 16% | C− | A+ | 33 min | $52,060 |
| City of Orange Township | under 2% | C− | A+ | 32 min | $52,847 |
| South Orange Village Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 39 min | $196,481 |
| Bloomfield Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $103,604 |
| Ampere North | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ampere North: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Newark. Darker towns draw more of East Orange’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 East Orange: questions
What is the median household income in East Orange?
$60,830 (±$3,867) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Orange?
16.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Orange?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Orange work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newark (16%, 4 mi), New York City (11%, 16 mi), Jersey City (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is East Orange walkable?
East Orange is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 26% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Orange without a car?
23% of commuters take transit and 33% of households have no car. 73% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from East Orange, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Orange
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.