Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Riverdale (0.8%) than in 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. Riverdale grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by household income, Riverdale is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Riverdale: the figures worth knowing
Riverdale is where the jobs are
Riverdale has 3,596 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Riverdale
70% of Riverdale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Riverdale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Riverdale pay little
31% of the jobs based in Riverdale pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Riverdale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverdale is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #63 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Riverdale could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who leaves Riverdale for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,885 residents head out to work, 85 work right here, and 3,511 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Riverdale on a workday afternoon, 39% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Jobs in Riverdale: what the 3,596 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverdale, 2013 → 2023: 3,407 → 3,596. 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 Riverdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Riverdale’s workforce comes from
Where Riverdale clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
Riverdale’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverdale workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,088 commuters (the 9% 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 many miles Riverdale 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Riverdale
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverdale is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #279 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.1% 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 2,301 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 3.4% of Riverdale households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Riverdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
206th of 4,112: where Riverdale ranks among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Harding Township NJ | 3,949 | $222K | 3.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 204 | North Barrington IL | 3,125 | $226K | 4.8% | 3.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 205 | Leo-Cedarville IN | 3,790 | $116K | 0.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 206 | Riverdale NJ | 4,144 | $103K | 7.7% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| 207 | Port Washington North NY | 3,154 | $136K | 2.8% | 4.2% | 3% | A+ |
| 208 | Sheffield OH | 4,757 | $108K | 1.7% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Riverdale, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Work in the towns next to Riverdale
The biggest share goes to Pompton Lakes (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riverdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | – | A+ | A | 28 min | $102,950 |
| Bloomingdale | under 2% | A− | A− | 29 min | $127,500 |
| Pompton Lakes | 2% | A | A | 30 min | $124,454 |
| Pompton Plains | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Pequannock Township | 2% | A | A | 28 min | $120,666 |
| Kinnelon | under 2% | A | B+ | 34 min | $187,438 |
| Butler | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $111,557 |
Same-state neighbors only. Pompton Plains: 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 Riverdale’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 Riverdale: questions
What is the median household income in Riverdale?
$102,950 (±$10,103) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverdale?
7.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverdale?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverdale work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wayne Township (7%, 5 mi), New York City (5%, 30 mi), Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverdale walkable?
Riverdale is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverdale without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverdale
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.