Photo: EdZa · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in North Caldwell earn more than in almost any other U.S. town
Poverty touches 1.7% of residents, against 9.7% across New Jersey. Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. For jobs and income North Caldwell is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
North Caldwell at work: what stands out
Home offices are common in North Caldwell
31% of North Caldwell workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
79% of North Caldwell’s 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 72% of the jobs based in North Caldwell. The jobs ↓
North Caldwell is a place people come home to
There are 922 jobs based in North Caldwell, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday North Caldwell has about 4,600 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 North Caldwell’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds North Caldwell’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, 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, North Caldwell could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 30 minutes each way for North Caldwell’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Caldwell workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,341 commuters (the 31% 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.
Most jobs in North Caldwell are in services
922 jobs are based in North Caldwell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Caldwell, 2014 → 2024: 1,010 → 922. 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 North Caldwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
North Caldwell by day and by night
On a workday 3,110 residents head out to work, 73 work right here, and 849 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in North Caldwell on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
17% of working residents work in New York City
Where North Caldwell clocks in
17% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from North Caldwell
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.
North Caldwell is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 13.2% across New Jersey, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,374 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 1.0% of North Caldwell households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of North Caldwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, North Caldwell is 322nd of 3,168 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,200
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Old Tappan NJ | 6,686 | $205K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 320 | Marilla NY | 5,119 | $93K | 2.7% | 1.5% | 6% | A |
| 321 | Burbank CA | 5,333 | $135K | 11.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| 322 | North Caldwell NJ | 6,815 | $208K | 1.7% | 6.0% | 2% | A |
| 323 | Westmoreland NY | 5,834 | $105K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 7% | A |
| 324 | Ohio Township PA | 7,268 | $153K | 3.6% | 4.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 North Caldwell, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How North Caldwell compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Fairfield Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Caldwell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Caldwell | – | A | A− | 30 min | $208,245 |
| Cedar Grove Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $151,263 |
| Fairfield Township | 5% | B+ | A | 22 min | $115,980 |
| West Caldwell Township | 2% | A+ | A− | 26 min | $158,467 |
| Verona Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 32 min | $161,843 |
| Caldwell | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $96,824 |
| Singac | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Little Falls Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 26 min | $123,307 |
Same-state neighbors only. Singac: 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 North Caldwell’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 North Caldwell: questions
What is the median household income in North Caldwell?
$208,245 (±$53,210) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Caldwell?
1.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Caldwell?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Caldwell work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (17%, 22 mi), Fairfield Township (5%, 3 mi), Newark (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North Caldwell walkable?
North Caldwell is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Caldwell without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Caldwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Caldwell
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.