Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Northvale has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 4.7% of residents (New Jersey 9.7%). The two grades for Northvale are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 5% work in Northvale itself; outside it, New York City draws the most (19%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Northvale and work: the main findings
A lot of Northvale workers cross into New York
39% of Northvale workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Northvale trades workers with the towns around it
Northvale has about as many jobs (2,767) as working residents (2,376), but they are mostly different people: 2,252 residents leave for work each day while 2,643 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Northvale are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Many of the people who work in Northvale live in another state
New York City, NY (5%), Orangetown, NY (5%) and Clarkstown, NY (3%) are among the top places Northvale’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 16% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Northvale’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Northvale is New York City, NY, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (443) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Northvale are in trade, transport and utilities, against 17% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
Northvale’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northvale is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #191 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Northvale’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.3%, 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, Northvale could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The towns that employ Northvale’s residents
Where Northvale clocks in
19% of workers
4% 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.
Northvale on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,252 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 2,643 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 (1.16 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Northvale
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.
The 2,767 jobs based in Northvale
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northvale, 2013 → 2023: 3,333 → 2,767. 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 Northvale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Northvale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northvale workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,994 commuters (the 15% 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.
In Northvale, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northvale is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #189 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Northvale 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 2,350 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.1% of Northvale households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Northvale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Northvale is 609th among 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 6 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 607 | Cedarville Township OH | 6,320 | $95K | 11.9% | 9.7% | 26% | A− |
| 608 | Enon VA | 4,137 | $76K | 6.7% | 0.9% | 2% | A− |
| 609 | Northvale NJ | 4,978 | $128K | 4.7% | 6.3% | 5% | A− |
| 610 | Ashland City TN | 5,650 | $79K | 6.4% | 1.4% | 12% | A− |
| 611 | Loudon NH | 5,781 | $107K | 4.4% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Northvale, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Northvale
The biggest share goes to Norwood (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northvale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northvale | – | A− | A | 26 min | $127,625 |
| Norwood | 4% | A+ | A− | 31 min | $178,311 |
| Rockleigh | 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Old Tappan | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $205,385 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rockleigh: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northvale’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 Northvale: questions
What is the median household income in Northvale?
$127,625 (±$25,637) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northvale?
4.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northvale?
26 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northvale work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (19%, 24 mi), Norwood (4%, 2 mi), Orangetown (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northvale walkable?
Northvale is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northvale without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northvale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northvale
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.