Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Port Reading commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Port Reading has 835 jobs, and 2,067 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Port Reading; the top destination outside it is Woodbridge Township (19%, 2 miles). For 7% of workers, the job is at home, where New Jersey as a whole has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Port Reading, in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Port Reading than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Port Reading fell from 1,472 in 2013 to 835 in 2023, −43%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
No single place dominates Port Reading’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 8% of working residents, and 50% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Port Reading residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
44% of the jobs in Port Reading are in trade, transport and utilities, against 27% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Port Reading empties out on a workday
About 2,300 people are in Port Reading on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than the 3,500 who live here: 2,000 head out to work and 800 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
67% of the jobs in Port Reading pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Reading, 2013 → 2023: 1,472 → 835. 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 Port Reading’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that employ Port Reading’s residents
Where Port Reading clocks in
19% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Who commutes out of Port Reading, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,035 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 803 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Port Reading on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Port Reading takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Reading workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,713 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far it is to work from Port Reading
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.
Next door to Port Reading
The biggest share goes to Carteret (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Reading workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Reading | – | — | — | 32 min | $134,479 |
| Carteret | 3% | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $96,862 |
| Sewaren | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Avenel | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sewaren and Avenel: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Port Reading’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 Port Reading: questions
What is the median household income in Port Reading?
$134,479 (±$23,174) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Reading?
4.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Reading?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Reading work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Woodbridge Township (19%, 2 mi), New York City (8%, 17 mi), Edison Township (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Port Reading without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Reading, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Reading
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.