Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Paramus are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
At 31 minutes each way, commutes from Paramus run about the New Jersey average. 4.7% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole. About one in ten work in Paramus; the top destination outside it is New York City (20%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Paramus
Paramus fills up on a workday
Paramus has 40,424 jobs, 3.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 54,000 people are in town, more than double the 27,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Paramus draws workers from far and wide
The 40,424 jobs in Paramus are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 20%; the other 76% 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.
Why Paramus gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Paramus is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #210 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Paramus’ grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.7%, 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, Paramus could be anywhere from A− to A.
Paramus’s population more than doubles on a workday
On a workday 11,543 residents head out to work, 1,548 work right here, and 38,876 people come in from elsewhere.
About 54,000 people are in Paramus on a workday afternoon, 102% more than live here.
3.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Paramus’s workers come from
Where Paramus clocks in
20% 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.
The 40,424 jobs based in Paramus
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paramus, 2013 → 2023: 40,127 → 40,424. 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 Paramus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Paramus: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Paramus workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,452 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.
Half of Paramus commutes less than 11 miles
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.
Paramus is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,076 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 3.4% of Paramus households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Paramus’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,477 U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000, Paramus comes 448th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 446 | Mount Olive Township NJ | 29,503 | $117K | 4.3% | 5.2% | 10% | A− |
| 447 | Radnor Township PA | 32,930 | $164K | 6.9% | 5.6% | 11% | A− |
| 448 | Paramus NJ | 26,723 | $144K | 4.7% | 7.7% | 12% | A− |
| 449 | Bryant AR | 22,815 | $83K | 5.6% | 2.6% | 10% | A− |
| 450 | Laguna Beach CA | 22,391 | $144K | 6.1% | 5.0% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Paramus, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Paramus and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hackensack (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Paramus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paramus | – | A− | A+ | 31 min | $144,349 |
| Fair Lawn | under 2% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $144,574 |
| River Edge | under 2% | A | A+ | 35 min | $159,028 |
| Ridgewood | 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $208,211 |
| Hackensack | 4% | B | A+ | 29 min | $84,277 |
| Washington Township | under 2% | A+ | A− | 32 min | $180,133 |
| Oradell | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 32 min | $221,322 |
| Rochelle Park Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 27 min | $110,380 |
| Maywood | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $117,912 |
| Emerson | under 2% | A | A+ | 31 min | $155,536 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Paramus’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 Paramus: questions
What is the median household income in Paramus?
$144,349 (±$16,221) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paramus?
4.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paramus?
31 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 Paramus work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (20%, 21 mi), Hackensack (4%, 4 mi), Newark (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Paramus walkable?
Paramus is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Paramus without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Paramus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paramus
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.