Photo: RyeCityRoller · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Fort Lee earn more than those in 82% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 7.8% of residents; New Jersey has 9.7%. For jobs and income Fort Lee is better than 77% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Only 8% stay in Fort Lee for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (39%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Fort Lee in brief
A lot of Fort Lee workers cross into New York
32% of Fort Lee workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
39% of Fort Lee works in New York City
6,998 working residents, 39%, have their main job in New York City, NY, 13 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Fort Lee itself. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Fort Lee live in another state
14% of the jobs in Fort Lee are held by people who live in New York City, NY, one of the top places its workers come from. The commute map ↓
Fort Lee draws workers from far and wide
The 12,145 jobs in Fort Lee are filled from a wide area. Fort Lee’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Fort Lee: the grade in detail
Job access by car holds Fort Lee’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fort Lee could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Out of Fort Lee to work: where people go
Where Fort Lee clocks in
39% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Fort Lee
On a workday 16,645 residents head out to work, 1,350 work right here, and 10,795 people come in from elsewhere.
About 34,000 people are in Fort Lee on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Fort Lee
12,145 jobs are based in Fort Lee.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Lee, 2014 → 2024: 12,657 → 12,145. 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 Fort Lee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Fort Lee, about 35 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Lee workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,146 commuters (the 22% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fort Lee
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.
Fort Lee is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fort Lee is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #5 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Fort Lee 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 19,334 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, 91% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 25.0 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). 12.6% of Fort Lee households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 26% of Fort Lee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000, Fort Lee ranks 414th of 1,086 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Livingston Township NJ | 32,223 | $230K | 2.3% | 4.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Marlboro Township NJ | 42,254 | $186K | 3.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 412 | East Lake FL | 33,283 | $99K | 6.2% | 4.9% | 5% | A− |
| 413 | Cheltenham Township PA | 38,498 | $109K | 7.5% | 5.7% | 5% | A− |
| 414 | Fort Lee NJ | 40,345 | $107K | 7.8% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 415 | Sylvania Township OH | 50,627 | $105K | 6.2% | 4.8% | 18% | A− |
| 416 | Glendora CA | 49,671 | $114K | 7.3% | 6.1% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Fort Lee, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Fort Lee compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Englewood Cliffs (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fort Lee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lee | – | A− | A+ | 35 min | $107,274 |
| Edgewater | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 38 min | $124,050 |
| Leonia | under 2% | A | A+ | 31 min | $129,665 |
| Englewood Cliffs | 2% | A | A+ | 36 min | $230,611 |
| Palisades Park | 1% | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $94,743 |
| Englewood | 2% | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $102,571 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fort Lee’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 Fort Lee: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Lee?
$107,274 (±$6,993) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Lee?
7.8%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Lee?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fort Lee work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (39%, 13 mi), Jersey City (3%, 11 mi), Englewood Cliffs (2%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fort Lee walkable?
Fort Lee is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.9 out of 20, and 31% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fort Lee without a car?
26% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 91% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Lee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Lee
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.