Photo: KForce at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Rahway (7.3%) than in 84% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Rahway for work; outside it, New York City is the main destination (14%, 18 miles). Rahway grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Rahway at work: what stands out
Rahway trades workers with the towns around it
Rahway has about as many jobs (15,382) as working residents (15,308), but they are mostly different people: 14,179 residents leave for work each day while 14,253 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Rahway are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Rahway makes and builds things
52% of the jobs based in Rahway are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Rahway residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 10%. The jobs ↓
Rahway draws workers from far and wide
The 15,382 jobs in Rahway are filled from a wide area. Rahway’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 69% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Rahway pay over $40,000 a year
79% of the jobs based in Rahway pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Rahway has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rahway went from 10,507 in 2013 to 15,382 in 2023, +46%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Rahway’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rahway is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #341 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Rahway’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Rahway could be anywhere from B− to A−.
A workday in Rahway: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 14,179 residents head out to work, 1,129 work right here, and 14,253 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 (1.00 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.
Goods jobs make up 52% of work in Rahway
15,382 jobs are based in Rahway.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rahway, 2013 → 2023: 10,507 → 15,382. 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 Rahway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Rahway to work: where people go
Where Rahway clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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.
A commute of about 32 minutes in Rahway
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rahway workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,165 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Rahway
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.
Rahway is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rahway is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #106 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Rahway near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,651 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, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 9.4% of Rahway households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Rahway’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,334 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000, Rahway comes 732nd 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 730 | Franklin IN | 26,743 | $82K | 11.0% | 3.9% | 21% | B |
| 731 | Brandon MS | 26,122 | $93K | 8.5% | 5.2% | 10% | B |
| 732 | Rahway NJ | 31,010 | $91K | 9.5% | 7.3% | 7% | B |
| 733 | Kernersville NC | 29,128 | $72K | 12.6% | 2.7% | 12% | B |
| 734 | Hillside Township NJ | 22,860 | $100K | 10.7% | 7.6% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Rahway, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Rahway
The biggest share goes to Woodbridge Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rahway workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahway | – | B | A+ | 32 min | $91,461 |
| Woodbridge Township | 5% | A− | A+ | 33 min | $108,928 |
| Colonia | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Clark Township | under 2% | A+ | A− | 28 min | $133,504 |
| Avenel | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Linden | 3% | B | A+ | 32 min | $92,915 |
Same-state neighbors only. Colonia 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 Rahway’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 Rahway: questions
What is the median household income in Rahway?
$91,461 (±$7,212) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rahway?
9.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rahway?
32 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 Rahway work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 18 mi), Newark (6%, 10 mi), Woodbridge Township (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rahway walkable?
Rahway is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rahway without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rahway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rahway
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.