Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Matawan have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 10.5% (New Jersey 9.7%). Matawan grades A− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Matawan stands out on work
Matawan’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Matawan is New York City, NY, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (638) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Matawan
70% of Matawan residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 51% of the jobs based in Matawan pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% 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.
Where Matawan’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Matawan is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #272 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Matawan’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Matawan could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Short hops and long hauls from Matawan
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.
What the 2,902 jobs in Matawan are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Matawan, 2013 → 2023: 2,656 → 2,902. 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 Matawan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Matawan by day and by night
On a workday 4,567 residents head out to work, 195 work right here, and 2,707 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,900 people are in Matawan on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
13% of working residents work in New York City
Where Matawan clocks in
13% of workers
4% 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.
Commuting from Matawan: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Matawan workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,169 commuters (the 21% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Matawan
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Matawan is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #136 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Matawan 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 5,283 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 69% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 5.9% of Matawan households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Matawan’s commuters take a bus or train.
Matawan next to U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,200: 942nd of 2,800 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% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 23 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 940 | Pacific MO | 7,824 | $63K | 5.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A− |
| 941 | Barrington NJ | 7,155 | $87K | 7.4% | 4.7% | 4% | A− |
| 942 | Matawan NJ | 9,768 | $123K | 10.5% | 5.1% | 4% | A− |
| 943 | Wrentham MA | 12,453 | $152K | 6.9% | 6.9% | 8% | A− |
| 944 | Lake Norman of Catawba NC | 9,906 | $113K | 4.2% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,800 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Matawan, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Matawan and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Aberdeen Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Matawan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matawan | – | A− | A+ | 33 min | $123,354 |
| Aberdeen Township | 3% | A | A+ | 33 min | $121,795 |
| Strathmore | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Morganville | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Marlboro Township | 2% | A+ | A | 41 min | $186,292 |
| Old Bridge Township | 3% | B+ | A | 36 min | $104,587 |
Same-state neighbors only. Strathmore and Morganville: 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 Matawan’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 Matawan: questions
What is the median household income in Matawan?
$123,354 (±$14,851) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Matawan?
10.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Matawan?
33 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Matawan work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (13%, 23 mi), Edison Township (4%, 9 mi), Woodbridge Township (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Matawan walkable?
Matawan is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Matawan without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 69% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Matawan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Matawan
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.