Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Newark (11.6%) is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 85% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Newark is better than 24% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Home is the office for 7% of workers; New Jersey has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Newark apart on work
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Newark’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the New Jersey average of 31. Time on the road ↓
The jobs in Newark pay better than its residents’ jobs
72% of the jobs based in Newark pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 53% of the jobs Newark residents hold. 83% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Newark. The jobs ↓
Newark draws workers from far and wide
The 146,706 jobs in Newark are filled from a wide area. Newark’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Newark’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Newark’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newark could be anywhere from C− to C.
Commuting from Newark: 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 Newark workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 119,763 commuters (the 7% 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.
72% of the jobs in Newark pay over $3,333 a month
146,706 jobs are based in Newark.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newark, 2013 → 2023: 130,207 → 146,706. 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 Newark’s own residents hold wherever they work.
11% of working residents work in New York City
Where Newark clocks in
11% of workers
3% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Newark
On a workday 74,686 residents head out to work, 25,383 work right here, and 121,323 people come in from elsewhere.
About 370,000 people are in Newark on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 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.
How far Newark goes to work
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.
Newark is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newark is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #32 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Newark 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 129,145 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, 81% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 39.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 34.3% of Newark households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 21% of Newark’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
U.S. towns of 227,000 to 437,000, and where Newark sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Jersey City NJ | 302,013 | $98K | 15.6% | 5.5% | 17% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | New Orleans LA | 362,154 | $57K | 22.6% | 7.5% | 57% | C |
| 61 | Cincinnati OH | 314,367 | $53K | 25.5% | 6.8% | 40% | C− |
| 62 | Newark NJ | 323,808 | $52K | 23.4% | 11.6% | 25% | C− |
| 63 | Buffalo NY | 274,613 | $50K | 26.0% | 7.3% | 42% | C− |
| 64 | Toledo OH | 263,423 | $50K | 24.3% | 7.7% | 44% | C− |
| 65 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
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 Newark, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Newark compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Elizabeth (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Newark workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newark | – | C− | A+ | 33 min | $52,060 |
| Irvington Township | 1% | C | A+ | 35 min | $61,609 |
| Belleville Township | under 2% | B | A+ | 32 min | $90,140 |
| Silver Lake | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Elizabeth | 3% | C+ | A+ | 27 min | $66,555 |
| South Orange Village Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 39 min | $196,481 |
| Kearny | under 2% | B | A+ | 33 min | $79,154 |
| Maplewood Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 39 min | $173,500 |
| East Orange | 2% | C | A+ | 35 min | $60,830 |
| Harrison | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 41 min | $93,013 |
| Ampere North | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Silver Lake and Ampere North: 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 Newark’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 Newark: questions
What is the median household income in Newark?
$52,060 (±$1,772) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newark?
23.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newark?
33 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newark work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (11%, 13 mi), Elizabeth (3%, 4 mi), Jersey City (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newark walkable?
Newark is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 27% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newark without a car?
21% of commuters take transit and 34% of households have no car. 81% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newark, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newark
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.