Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0At 7.3%, unemployment in Phillipsburg is higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City. The two grades for Phillipsburg are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Home is the office for 4% of workers, against 17% across New Jersey.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Phillipsburg
No single place dominates Phillipsburg’s commute
The biggest draw, Lopatcong Township, gets only 4% of working residents, and 69% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Phillipsburg residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Phillipsburg live in another state
Easton, PA (4%), Palmer Township, PA (4%) and Bethlehem, PA (3%) are among the top places Phillipsburg’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 15% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Phillipsburg draws workers from far and wide
The 5,235 jobs in Phillipsburg are filled from a wide area. Phillipsburg’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Phillipsburg are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker. Time on the road ↓
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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Phillipsburg
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Phillipsburg is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #447 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Phillipsburg’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.2%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Phillipsburg could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Where Phillipsburg goes to work
Where Phillipsburg clocks in
4% 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.
Getting to work from Phillipsburg takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Phillipsburg workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,316 commuters (the 4% 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 daily flow of workers through Phillipsburg
On a workday 6,301 residents head out to work, 740 work right here, and 4,495 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Phillipsburg on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 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 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Phillipsburg: 5,235 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Phillipsburg, 2013 → 2023: 4,915 → 5,235. 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 Phillipsburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Phillipsburg to work
About 23% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Phillipsburg
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Phillipsburg is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #178 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.7% 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 7,659 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 83% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 15.8% of Phillipsburg households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Phillipsburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Phillipsburg places 1,674th of 2,109 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | East Greenwich Township NJ | 12,610 | $149K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,672 | Rantoul IL | 11,991 | $49K | 16.9% | 3.2% | 26% | C |
| 1,673 | Southbridge Town MA | 18,105 | $66K | 15.3% | 7.2% | 20% | C |
| 1,674 | Phillipsburg NJ | 15,456 | $68K | 20.2% | 7.3% | 11% | C |
| 1,675 | Wilmington OH | 12,802 | $57K | 17.5% | 4.2% | 29% | C |
| 1,676 | Loyalsock Township PA | 11,393 | $59K | 7.9% | 12.3% | 14% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Phillipsburg, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Phillipsburg and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Phillipsburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillipsburg | – | C | A | 26 min | $68,324 |
| Lopatcong Township | 4% | B | B+ | 39 min | $91,114 |
| Pohatcong Township | 2% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $103,611 |
| Upper Pohatcong | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Upper Pohatcong: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lopatcong Township. Darker towns draw more of Phillipsburg’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 Phillipsburg: questions
What is the median household income in Phillipsburg?
$68,324 (±$11,742) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Phillipsburg?
20.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Phillipsburg?
26 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Phillipsburg work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lopatcong Township (4%, 2 mi), New York City (3%, 65 mi), Raritan Township (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Phillipsburg walkable?
Phillipsburg is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Phillipsburg without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 83% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Phillipsburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Phillipsburg
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.