Household incomes in Glen Ridge are among the highest of any U.S. town
Poverty touches 1.1% of residents (New Jersey 9.7%). Measured by household income, Glen Ridge is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Glen Ridge grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Glen Ridge and work: the main findings
A lot of Glen Ridge works from home
34% of Glen Ridge workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Glen Ridge workers cross into New York
26% of Glen Ridge workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Glen Ridge is services
93% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Four in five Glen Ridge workers earn over $40,000 a year
81% of Glen Ridge’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
One in three of Glen Ridge works in New York City
1,293 working residents, 35%, have their main job in New York City, NY, 17 miles away. That’s 12 times as many as work in Glen Ridge itself. 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.
Inside Glen Ridge’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Glen Ridge is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #124 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Glen Ridge’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Glen Ridge’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, Glen Ridge could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 36 minutes to work from Glen Ridge
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Glen Ridge workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,322 commuters (the 34% 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.
35% of working residents work in New York City
Where Glen Ridge clocks in
35% of workers
4% 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.
Most jobs in Glen Ridge are in services
1,215 jobs are based in Glen Ridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Glen Ridge, 2014 → 2024: 1,169 → 1,215. 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 Glen Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Glen Ridge by day and by night
On a workday 3,615 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 1,097 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Glen Ridge on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
Half of Glen Ridge commutes less than 17 miles
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.
Glen Ridge is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,533 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, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 13.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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 Glen Ridge households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 34% of Glen Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,956 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,100, Glen Ridge comes 428th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 426 | Kendall Township IL | 10,154 | $122K | 2.3% | 3.8% | 7% | A |
| 427 | Waipio HI | 10,870 | $110K | 5.7% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| 428 | Glen Ridge NJ | 8,259 | $250K | 1.1% | 7.6% | 3% | A |
| 429 | Ridley Park PA | 7,255 | $94K | 5.4% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| 430 | Highland Park TX | 8,764 | $250K | 7.0% | 4.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,956 | 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 Glen Ridge, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Around Glen Ridge: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Montclair Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Glen Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ridge | – | A | A+ | 36 min | $250,000+ |
| Bloomfield Township | 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $103,604 |
| Montclair Township | 4% | A | A+ | 36 min | $151,075 |
| Watsessing | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Brookdale | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Watsessing and Brookdale: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Glen Ridge’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.
- 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 Glen Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Glen Ridge?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Glen Ridge?
1.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Glen Ridge?
36 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Glen Ridge work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (35%, 17 mi), Montclair Township (4%, 1 mi), Newark (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Glen Ridge walkable?
Glen Ridge is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 37% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Glen Ridge without a car?
34% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 25% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Glen Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Glen Ridge
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.