Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Oakland top those of 96% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Oakland are A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Poverty touches 3.1% of residents (New Jersey 9.7%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Oakland: the gist
Oakland draws workers from far and wide
The 5,546 jobs in Oakland are filled from a wide area. Oakland’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Oakland’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oakland is New York City, NY, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (914) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
What’s behind Oakland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oakland is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #103 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Oakland’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, 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, Oakland could be anywhere from A to A+.
14% of working residents work in New York City
Where Oakland clocks in
14% 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.
How far Oakland 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.
Who works in Oakland, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,303 residents head out to work, 463 work right here, and 5,083 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Oakland on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 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.
69% of the jobs in Oakland pay over $3,333 a month
5,546 jobs are based in Oakland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakland, 2013 → 2023: 4,938 → 5,546. 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 Oakland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Oakland: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakland workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,353 commuters (the 22% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Oakland
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oakland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #310 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Oakland 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 6,843 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 45% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 3.7% of Oakland households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Oakland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oakland next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 327th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 325 | Olmsted Township OH | 14,538 | $96K | 5.8% | 1.8% | 4% | A |
| 326 | Belle Chasse LA | 10,934 | $115K | 6.1% | 2.5% | 16% | A |
| 327 | Oakland NJ | 12,837 | $162K | 3.1% | 5.4% | 7% | A |
| 328 | Cedar Creek Township IN | 14,290 | $112K | 4.0% | 2.5% | 8% | A |
| 329 | Hawthorn Woods IL | 9,679 | $220K | 0.6% | 5.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Oakland, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Oakland
The biggest share goes to Franklin Lakes (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | – | A | A− | 30 min | $162,019 |
| Franklin Lakes | 3% | A+ | A | 37 min | $235,795 |
| Mahwah Township | 2% | A | A | 28 min | $131,327 |
| Pines Lake | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Wayne Township | 3% | A | A | 29 min | $153,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Pines Lake: 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 Oakland’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 Oakland: questions
What is the median household income in Oakland?
$162,019 (±$15,337) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakland?
3.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakland?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakland work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 30 mi), Hackensack (3%, 14 mi), Franklin Lakes (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakland walkable?
Oakland is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakland without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakland
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.