Photo: Alansohn · CC BY-SA 4.0A job hub: New Brunswick has 2.5 jobs per working resident, and 41,758 people come in to work
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. New Brunswick has 44,354 jobs; 17,797 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income New Brunswick is better than 31% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in New Brunswick
New Brunswick is where the jobs are
New Brunswick has 44,354 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 84,000 people are in town, 46% more than the 57,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
New Brunswick draws workers from far and wide
The 44,354 jobs in New Brunswick are filled from a wide area. New Brunswick’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 68% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
No single place dominates New Brunswick’s commute
The biggest draw, Edison Township, gets only 6% of working residents, and 51% work outside the top ten towns entirely. New Brunswick residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from New Brunswick are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker, and quicker than any town next door (26 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
The jobs in New Brunswick pay better than its residents’ jobs
74% of the jobs based in New Brunswick pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 58% of the jobs New Brunswick residents hold. 94% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside New Brunswick. The jobs ↓
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.
How New Brunswick earns its Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds New Brunswick’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (32.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Brunswick could be anywhere from C− to C+.
The daily commute in and out of New Brunswick
On a workday 15,201 residents head out to work and 2,596 work right here.
About 84,000 people are in New Brunswick on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where New Brunswick’s workers come from
Where New Brunswick clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
From New Brunswick, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Brunswick workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,703 commuters (the 11% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in New Brunswick
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Brunswick, 2014 → 2024: 40,163 → 44,354. 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 New Brunswick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from New Brunswick
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: New Brunswick
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Brunswick is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #18 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place New Brunswick 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 26,624 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% 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 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 26.4% of New Brunswick households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of New Brunswick’s commuters take a bus or train.
New Brunswick places 669th of 773 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 40,000 to 77,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Marlboro Township NJ | 42,254 | $186K | 3.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Bridgewater Township NJ | 46,455 | $173K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Wayne Township NJ | 54,819 | $153K | 3.4% | 4.9% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 667 | Myrtle Beach SC | 40,937 | $60K | 19.0% | 5.4% | 37% | C |
| 668 | Sierra Vista AZ | 44,907 | $70K | 12.0% | 4.8% | 41% | C |
| 669 | New Brunswick NJ | 57,133 | $66K | 32.0% | 8.1% | 15% | C |
| 670 | Midwest City OK | 58,799 | $58K | 16.5% | 7.1% | 12% | C |
| 671 | Union NY | 53,972 | $62K | 16.2% | 5.8% | 29% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 773 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 New Brunswick, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Bordering towns draw 19% of New Brunswick’s workers
The biggest share goes to Edison Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Brunswick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick | – | C | A+ | 23 min | $65,810 |
| Highland Park | under 3% | A− | A+ | 27 min | $104,694 |
| Edison Township | 6% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $125,145 |
| Franklin Township | 4% | A | A− | 34 min | $124,648 |
| East Brunswick Township | 3% | A | A | 37 min | $143,343 |
| East Franklin | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Piscataway Township | 2% | A− | A | 26 min | $127,832 |
| North Brunswick Township | 4% | A− | A | 29 min | $120,764 |
| Somerset | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Voorhees | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Franklin, Somerset and Voorhees: 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 New Brunswick’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 New Brunswick: questions
What is the median household income in New Brunswick?
$65,810 (±$10,751) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Brunswick?
32.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Brunswick?
23 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Brunswick work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Edison Township (6%, 5 mi), New York City (6%, 29 mi), Franklin Township (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is New Brunswick walkable?
New Brunswick is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 24% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Brunswick without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 26% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Brunswick, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Brunswick
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.