Making a living in Preakness
Only 7% stay in Preakness for work; outside it, Wayne Township is the main destination (12%, 1 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 30 minutes, where New Jersey has 31 and the U.S. 26. There are 8,666 jobs in Preakness, against 9,196 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Preakness stands out on work
Preakness trades workers with the towns around it
Preakness has about as many jobs (8,666) as working residents (9,196), but they are mostly different people: 8,524 residents leave for work each day while 7,994 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Preakness are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Preakness draws workers from far and wide
The 8,666 jobs in Preakness are filled from a wide area. Preakness’ own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Preakness’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Preakness is New York City, NY, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (947) 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.
How a workday changes Preakness
On a workday 8,524 residents head out to work, 672 work right here, and 7,994 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 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.
Where people from Preakness work
Where Preakness clocks in
12% of workers
10% 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.
How many miles Preakness commutes
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.
Preakness is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Preakness, 2013 → 2023: 8,536 → 8,666. 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 Preakness’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Preakness takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Preakness workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,531 commuters (the 17% 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 Preakness compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Preakness workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preakness | – | — | — | 30 min | $133,205 |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Packanack Lake | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Haledon | under 2% | B+ | A | 25 min | $95,870 |
| Totowa | under 2% | A+ | A− | 25 min | $113,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. William Paterson University of New Jersey and Packanack Lake: 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 Preakness’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 Preakness: questions
What is the median household income in Preakness?
$133,205 (±$17,201) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Preakness?
3.3%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Preakness?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Preakness work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wayne Township (12%, 1 mi), New York City (10%, 24 mi), Paterson (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Preakness without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Preakness, from the people who make the trip.
More of Preakness
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.