Rainbow Lakes draws 7,136 commuters a day, with 10.9 jobs for every working resident
Only 2% work in Rainbow Lakes; the top destination outside it is Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (13%, 2 miles). Employers in Rainbow Lakes report 7,149 jobs, against 655 working residents. 24% of workers work from home; New Jersey has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Rainbow Lakes apart
Rainbow Lakes fills up on a workday
Rainbow Lakes has 7,149 jobs, 10.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,900 people are in town, 6 times the 1,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Rainbow Lakes draws workers from far and wide
The 7,149 jobs in Rainbow Lakes are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 20%; the other 80% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The jobs in Rainbow Lakes pay better than its residents’ jobs
92% of the jobs based in Rainbow Lakes pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 76% of the jobs Rainbow Lakes residents hold. 100% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Rainbow Lakes. 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; with 655 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who commutes out of Rainbow Lakes, and who commutes in
On a workday 642 residents head out to work and 13 work right here.
About 7,900 people are in Rainbow Lakes on a workday afternoon, 472% more 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.
Where the people who work in Rainbow Lakes live
Where Rainbow Lakes clocks in
13% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Goods, not services: 29% of the jobs in Rainbow Lakes
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rainbow Lakes, 2013 → 2023: 5,837 → 7,149. 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 Rainbow Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Rainbow Lakes: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rainbow Lakes workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 597 commuters (the 24% 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 Rainbow Lakes
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.
How Rainbow Lakes compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rainbow Lakes workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Lakes | – | — | — | 24 min | $93,051 |
| Mountain Lakes | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $250,000+ |
| Parsippany | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Parsippany: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rainbow Lakes’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 Rainbow Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Rainbow Lakes?
$93,051 (±$7,740) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rainbow Lakes?
7.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rainbow Lakes?
24 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rainbow Lakes work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (13%, 2 mi), New York City (6%, 31 mi), Morristown (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rainbow Lakes without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rainbow Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rainbow Lakes
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.