Households in Penns Grove earn less than those in 92% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City. Poverty touches 44.1% of residents, where New Jersey as a whole has 9.7%. The two grades for Penns Grove are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Penns Grove, in brief
Commutes from Penns Grove are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Penns Grove workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Penns Grove empties out on a workday
About 3,400 people are in Penns Grove on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 4,900 who live here: 2,100 head out to work and 610 come in. 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.
Jobs & income in Penns Grove: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Penns Grove is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #465 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Penns Grove’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Penns Grove could be anywhere from D to C.
Time on the road from Penns Grove: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Penns Grove workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,249 commuters (the 2% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Penns Grove
On a workday 2,125 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 605 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Penns Grove on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.31 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.
15% of working residents work in Logan Township
Where Penns Grove clocks in
15% of workers
7% 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.
Inside Penns Grove’s 677 jobs
677 jobs are based in Penns Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Penns Grove, 2014 → 2024: 688 → 677. 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 Penns Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Penns Grove goes to work
About 21% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Penns Grove, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Penns Grove is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #296 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 1,278 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 100% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 22.3% of Penns Grove households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Penns Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
Penns Grove is 3,210th of 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | 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% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,208 | Combee Settlement FL | 5,242 | $40K | 27.3% | 7.1% | 1% | C− |
| 3,209 | Springfield MI | 5,246 | $45K | 19.1% | 9.7% | 4% | C− |
| 3,210 | Penns Grove NJ | 4,934 | $46K | 44.1% | 13.0% | 3% | C− |
| 3,211 | Mineola TX | 5,537 | $53K | 12.2% | 10.7% | 19% | C− |
| 3,212 | Unadilla NY | 4,098 | $56K | 11.3% | 5.9% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Penns Grove, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Penns Grove and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Carneys Point Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Penns Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penns Grove | – | C− | A− | 21 min | $45,781 |
| Carneys Point Township | 7% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $79,245 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Penns Grove’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 Penns Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Penns Grove?
$45,781 (±$17,844) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Penns Grove?
44.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Penns Grove?
21 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Penns Grove work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Logan Township (15%, 8 mi), Carneys Point Township (7%, 3 mi), Philadelphia (5%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Penns Grove walkable?
Penns Grove is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 15.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Penns Grove without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. 100% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Penns Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Penns Grove
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.