Photo: KForce at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Hackensack (7.7%) is higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 29 minutes each way, next to 31 for New Jersey and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Hackensack is better than 55% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). About one in ten work in Hackensack itself; outside it, New York City draws the most (21%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Hackensack in brief
Hackensack draws workers from far and wide
The 37,741 jobs in Hackensack are filled from a wide area. Hackensack’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 19%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Hackensack is where the jobs are
Hackensack has 37,741 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Hackensack workers cross into New York
18% of Hackensack workers work outside New Jersey, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, New York City (21%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Hackensack’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Hackensack’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hackensack could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Where the people who work in Hackensack live
Where Hackensack clocks in
21% of workers
4% 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.
Who leaves Hackensack for work, and who comes in
On a workday 19,462 residents head out to work, 2,569 work right here, and 35,172 people come in from elsewhere.
About 62,000 people are in Hackensack on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
68% of the jobs in Hackensack pay over $3,333 a month
37,741 jobs are based in Hackensack.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hackensack, 2013 → 2023: 39,662 → 37,741. 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 Hackensack’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Hackensack: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hackensack workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,288 commuters (the 14% 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.
The distance from Hackensack to work
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.
Hackensack is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hackensack is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #23 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Hackensack 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 24,867 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, 83% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 24.0 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). 13.6% of Hackensack households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Hackensack’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hackensack is 634th of 988 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 63,000 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 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Livingston Township NJ | 32,223 | $230K | 2.3% | 4.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Marlboro Township NJ | 42,254 | $186K | 3.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 632 | Groton CT | 39,138 | $88K | 10.6% | 5.2% | 33% | B |
| 633 | Ormond Beach FL | 44,692 | $69K | 10.1% | 3.5% | 18% | B |
| 634 | Hackensack NJ | 46,380 | $84K | 12.1% | 7.7% | 12% | B |
| 635 | Fallbrook CA | 32,112 | $96K | 11.9% | 5.2% | 17% | B |
| 636 | Plant City FL | 44,118 | $67K | 15.0% | 2.9% | 15% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 988 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Hackensack, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Hackensack
The biggest share goes to Paramus (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hackensack workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackensack | – | B | A+ | 29 min | $84,277 |
| Maywood | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $117,912 |
| River Edge | under 2% | A | A+ | 35 min | $159,028 |
| Paramus | 4% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $144,349 |
| Teaneck Township | 2% | A | A+ | 34 min | $144,075 |
| Bogota | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $103,299 |
| Ridgefield Park | under 2% | B | A+ | 27 min | $100,718 |
| South Hackensack Township | under 2% | B | A+ | 21 min | $84,527 |
| Hasbrouck Heights | under 2% | A | A+ | 30 min | $123,734 |
| Lodi | under 2% | B− | A+ | 26 min | $89,305 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hackensack’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 Hackensack: questions
What is the median household income in Hackensack?
$84,277 (±$5,290) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hackensack?
12.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hackensack?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hackensack work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (21%, 17 mi), Paramus (4%, 4 mi), Teaneck Township (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hackensack walkable?
Hackensack is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hackensack without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 83% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hackensack, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hackensack
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.