Photo: Jag9889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Little Ferry has higher unemployment (7.6%) than 86% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, where New Jersey as a whole has 17%. Jobs and income earn Little Ferry B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Only 4% work in Little Ferry; the top destination outside it is New York City (17%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Little Ferry: the gist
A lot of Little Ferry workers cross into New York
23% of Little Ferry workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Little Ferry and New York City trade workers both ways
New York City is the top workplace for Little Ferry residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Little Ferry come from (10% of its jobs). 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.
What’s behind Little Ferry’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Little Ferry is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #321 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Little Ferry’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Little Ferry could be anywhere from B− to A.
Out of Little Ferry to work: where people go
Where Little Ferry clocks in
17% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
How a workday changes Little Ferry
On a workday 5,068 residents head out to work, 238 work right here, and 3,319 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,400 people are in Little Ferry on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
68% of the jobs in Little Ferry pay over $3,333 a month
3,557 jobs are based in Little Ferry.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Little Ferry, 2014 → 2024: 3,287 → 3,557. 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 Little Ferry’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Little Ferry takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Little Ferry workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,366 commuters (the 6% 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.
Little Ferry’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Little Ferry is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Little Ferry is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #53 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Little Ferry 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 5,715 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, 62% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 13.6 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). 6.3% of Little Ferry households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 15% of Little Ferry’s commuters take a bus or train.
Little Ferry next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000: 1,065th of 2,507 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 21 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,063 | Wawayanda NY | 8,428 | $143K | 5.0% | 6.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,064 | Hanover Township PA | 11,702 | $107K | 7.7% | 6.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,065 | Little Ferry NJ | 11,099 | $86K | 6.3% | 7.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,066 | Seabrook TX | 13,974 | $103K | 6.5% | 9.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,067 | Louisville OH | 9,874 | $64K | 7.8% | 2.4% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Little Ferry, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
The towns around Little Ferry
The biggest share goes to Moonachie (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Little Ferry workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Ferry | – | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $85,750 |
| Moonachie | 2% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $90,260 |
| South Hackensack Township | under 2% | B | A+ | 21 min | $84,527 |
| Ridgefield | under 2% | A | A+ | 32 min | $118,059 |
| Ridgefield Park | under 2% | B | A+ | 27 min | $100,718 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Little Ferry’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 Little Ferry: questions
What is the median household income in Little Ferry?
$85,750 (±$13,188) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Little Ferry?
6.3%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Little Ferry?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Little Ferry work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (17%, 13 mi), Hackensack (5%, 3 mi), Paramus (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Little Ferry walkable?
Little Ferry is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Little Ferry without a car?
15% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 62% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Little Ferry, from the people who make the trip.
More of Little Ferry
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.