Morris Plains Station · Photo: Robert Mortell · CC BY-SA 3.0Morris Plains has higher household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. Below the poverty line: 3.2% of residents; New Jersey has 9.7%. Morris Plains grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Morris Plains apart
A lot of Morris Plains works from home
30% of Morris Plains workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Morris Plains’ 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, and so do 78% of the jobs based in Morris Plains. The jobs ↓
Morris Plains’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Morris Plains is New York City, NY, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (346) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Morris Plains’ grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Morris Plains is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #91 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Morris Plains’ grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Morris Plains could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily trip from Morris Plains: 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 Morris Plains workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,491 commuters (the 30% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Morris Plains
4,589 jobs are based in Morris Plains.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Morris Plains, 2013 → 2023: 3,471 → 4,589. 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 Morris Plains’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Morris Plains
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.
Morris Plains on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,240 residents head out to work, 171 work right here, and 4,418 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,800 people are in Morris Plains on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in New York City
Where Morris Plains clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Morris Plains
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Morris Plains is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #180 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Morris Plains 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 3,570 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 1.6% of Morris Plains households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Morris Plains’ commuters take a bus or train.
304th of 3,283: where Morris Plains ranks among U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 302 | Rancho Murieta CA | 5,875 | $140K | 4.1% | 2.5% | 7% | A |
| 303 | Granby MA | 5,991 | $119K | 4.5% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| 304 | Morris Plains NJ | 6,586 | $155K | 3.2% | 5.0% | 5% | A |
| 305 | Bayville NY | 6,780 | $149K | 3.7% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 306 | Rochester Township IL | 5,700 | $115K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 Morris Plains, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
12% of Morris Plains works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Morris Plains workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morris Plains | – | A | A | 29 min | $154,923 |
| Parsippany-Troy Hills Township | 6% | A | A | 28 min | $112,327 |
| Morris Township | 3% | A | A | 29 min | $204,951 |
| Hanover Township | 3% | A+ | B+ | 24 min | $156,956 |
| Cedar Knolls | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cedar Knolls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Morris Plains’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 Morris Plains: questions
What is the median household income in Morris Plains?
$154,923 (±$17,133) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Morris Plains?
3.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Morris Plains?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Morris Plains work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (10%, 30 mi), Morristown (8%, 3 mi), Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Morris Plains walkable?
Morris Plains is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Morris Plains without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Morris Plains, from the people who make the trip.
More of Morris Plains
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.