Photo: Jesper Rautell Balle · CC BY 3.0Households in Fanwood earn more than those in 98% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 26% of workers, against 17% across New Jersey. Poverty touches 1.0% of residents, against 9.7% across New Jersey. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Fanwood: the figures worth knowing
Fanwood workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fanwood has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fanwood went from 988 in 2014 to 1,625 in 2024, +64%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Fanwood
77% of Fanwood residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Fanwood pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Fanwood’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Fanwood is New York City, NY, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (546) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Fanwood works from home
26% of Fanwood 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Fanwood’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fanwood is among the top U.S. towns, #7 of 468 in New Jersey. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fanwood stays A+.
The trip to work from Fanwood: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fanwood workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,059 commuters (the 26% 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.
Jobs in Fanwood: what the 1,625 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fanwood, 2014 → 2024: 988 → 1,625. 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 Fanwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Fanwood commutes
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.
A workday in Fanwood: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,744 residents head out to work, 83 work right here, and 1,542 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Fanwood on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.42 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.
14% of working residents work in New York City
Where Fanwood clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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.
Fanwood is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,137 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 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 5.6% of Fanwood households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Fanwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fanwood is 32nd of 3,015 U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 31 | Long Branch VA | 7,034 | $185K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 32 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 33 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | 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 Fanwood, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door to Fanwood
The biggest share goes to Scotch Plains Township (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fanwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fanwood | – | A+ | A+ | 42 min | $195,529 |
| Scotch Plains Township | 6% | A+ | A | 34 min | $183,655 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fanwood’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 Fanwood: questions
What is the median household income in Fanwood?
$195,529 (±$40,950) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fanwood?
1.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fanwood?
42 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fanwood work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 24 mi), Scotch Plains Township (6%, 1 mi), Newark (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fanwood walkable?
Fanwood is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fanwood without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fanwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fanwood
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.