Photo: BetaMuKappa · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Fair Haven are among the highest of any U.S. town
The two grades for Fair Haven are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Fair Haven is among the highest-earning towns in the country. 1.1% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Fair Haven
Fair Haven workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 44 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 337 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Fair Haven workers cross into New York
21% of Fair Haven workers work outside New Jersey, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, New York City (17%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Fair Haven
75% of Fair Haven residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Fair Haven pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Fair Haven
25% of Fair Haven workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Fair Haven’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fair Haven is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #96 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Fair Haven’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Fair Haven’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fair Haven could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Time on the road from Fair Haven: about 44 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fair Haven workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,288 commuters (the 25% 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.
17% of working residents work in New York City
Where Fair Haven clocks in
17% of workers
5% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Fair Haven
891 jobs are based in Fair Haven.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fair Haven, 2013 → 2023: 741 → 891. 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 Fair Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Fair Haven
On a workday 2,392 residents head out to work, 143 work right here, and 748 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Fair Haven on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.35 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.
Where in the region Fair Haven works
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Fair Haven
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fair Haven is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #71 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Fair Haven 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 3,035 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, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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 Fair Haven households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 24% of Fair Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
314th of 3,307: where Fair Haven ranks among U.S. towns of 4,300 to 8,200
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 312 | Windsor Heights IA | 5,059 | $92K | 6.2% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| 313 | Circle Pines MN | 4,967 | $102K | 3.6% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 314 | Fair Haven NJ | 6,096 | $250K | 1.1% | 4.9% | 6% | A |
| 315 | Van Alstyne TX | 8,012 | $102K | 7.0% | 0.6% | 4% | A |
| 316 | Riga NY | 5,471 | $101K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,307 | 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 Fair Haven, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
The towns next door employ 11% of Fair Haven
The biggest share goes to Red Bank (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fair Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Haven | – | A | A+ | 44 min | $250,000+ |
| Red Bank | 5% | A− | A+ | 33 min | $97,477 |
| Middletown Township | 4% | A− | A | 35 min | $141,810 |
| Rumson | 2% | A | A+ | 45 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fair Haven’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fair Haven: questions
What is the median household income in Fair Haven?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fair Haven?
1.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fair Haven?
44 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fair Haven work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (17%, 21 mi), Red Bank (5%, 2 mi), Middletown Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fair Haven walkable?
Fair Haven is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 26% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fair Haven without a car?
24% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fair Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fair Haven
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.