Photo: Freeholdman12 · CC BY-SA 4.0Work and commuting in Kingston
Hardly any work in Kingston itself; outside it, South Brunswick Township draws the most (10%, 5 miles). 31% of workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Commuters spend 34 minutes getting to work on average, where New Jersey has 31 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Kingston apart on work
Fewer jobs are based in Kingston than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Kingston fell from 885 in 2013 to 525 in 2023, −41%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Kingston
31% of Kingston workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Kingston
74% of Kingston residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Kingston pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 100% leave town for their job. 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; with 763 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Kingston is a services town
525 jobs are based in Kingston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kingston, 2013 → 2023: 885 → 525. 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 Kingston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Kingston: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kingston workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 680 commuters (the 31% 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.
Kingston quiets down on a workday
On a workday 761 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 523 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Kingston on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 Kingston goes to work
Where Kingston clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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 commute from Kingston, by distance
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.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Kingston’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kingston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | – | — | — | 34 min | $110,813 |
| East Rocky Hill | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Heathcote | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Montgomery Township | under 3% | A | A− | 37 min | $226,771 |
| Princeton | 5% | A | A+ | 24 min | $192,079 |
| South Brunswick Township | 10% | A | A− | 34 min | $150,933 |
| Rocky Hill | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Rocky Hill and Heathcote: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Rocky Hill: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to South Brunswick Township. Darker towns draw more of Kingston’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 Kingston: questions
What is the median household income in Kingston?
$110,813 (±$24,658) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kingston?
2.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kingston?
34 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kingston work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Brunswick Township (10%, 5 mi), New Brunswick (5%, 12 mi), New York City (5%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Kingston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kingston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kingston
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.