Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Northfield earn more than those in 84% of U.S. towns
4.6% of residents live below the poverty line (New Jersey 9.7%). Northfield grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.4 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 Northfield stands out on work
Northfield trades workers with the towns around it
Northfield has about as many jobs (3,744) as working residents (4,360), but they are mostly different people: 3,944 residents leave for work each day while 3,328 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Northfield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Northfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Northfield residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
How Northfield earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($111,599, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northfield could be anywhere from B+ to A.
In and out of Northfield on a workday
On a workday 3,944 residents head out to work, 416 work right here, and 3,328 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 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.
From Northfield, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northfield workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,004 commuters (the 9% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Northfield
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
21% of working residents work in Atlantic City
Where Northfield clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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.
In Northfield, services account for most jobs
3,744 jobs are based in Northfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 3,433 → 3,744. 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 Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Northfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northfield is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #323 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 13.2% across New Jersey.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,424 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 1.2% of Northfield households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Northfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Northfield is 677th of 3,015 U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Old Tappan NJ | 6,686 | $205K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 675 | Kennedy Township PA | 8,419 | $87K | 8.7% | 2.1% | 4% | A− |
| 676 | North Springfield VA | 7,050 | $130K | 6.4% | 5.4% | 1% | A− |
| 677 | Northfield NJ | 8,496 | $112K | 4.6% | 3.9% | 10% | A− |
| 678 | Northville Township IL | 7,316 | $104K | 3.7% | 2.0% | 2% | A− |
| 679 | Solon Township MI | 6,652 | $87K | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | 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 Northfield, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Northfield’s workers
The biggest share goes to Egg Harbor Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | – | A− | A− | 22 min | $111,599 |
| Egg Harbor Township | 9% | B− | B | 23 min | $97,190 |
| Bargaintown | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Linwood | 3% | A− | B+ | 23 min | $156,354 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bargaintown: 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 Northfield’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 Northfield: questions
What is the median household income in Northfield?
$111,599 (±$6,010) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northfield?
4.6%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northfield work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlantic City (21%, 6 mi), Egg Harbor Township (9%, 3 mi), Somers Point (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northfield walkable?
Northfield is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northfield
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.