Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Where Forked River earns its living
The average commute takes 31 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. Only 4% work in Forked River itself; outside it, Lacey Township draws the most (13%, 5 miles). 1,775 jobs are based in Forked River; 2,495 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Forked River: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Forked River
65% of Forked River residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Forked River pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
36% of the jobs based in Forked River are held by workers 29 or younger, against 22% of Forked River’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Forked River has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Forked River went from 1,245 in 2013 to 1,775 in 2023, +43%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What Forked River’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forked River, 2013 → 2023: 1,245 → 1,775. 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 Forked River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Forked River, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,385 residents head out to work, 110 work right here, and 1,665 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Forked River on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 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 Forked River goes to work
Where Forked River clocks in
13% of workers
10% 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.
About 31 minutes each way, about the NJ average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forked River workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,960 commuters (the 18% 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 Forked River goes to work
About 17% 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.
Forked River and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forked River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forked River | – | — | — | 31 min | $91,493 |
| Ocean Township | under 2% | B− | B+ | 37 min | $100,524 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forked River’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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Forked River: questions
What is the median household income in Forked River?
$91,493 (±$18,654) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forked River?
11.6%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forked River?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forked River work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lacey Township (13%, 5 mi), Toms River Township (10%, 12 mi), Berkeley Township (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Forked River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forked River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forked River
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.