Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Rockaway has higher household incomes than 82% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.2% of residents, next to 9.7% across New Jersey. Rockaway grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Rockaway
Rockaway trades workers with the towns around it
Rockaway has about as many jobs (3,118) as working residents (3,455), but they are mostly different people: 3,290 residents leave for work each day while 2,953 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Rockaway are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Rockaway’s commute
The biggest draw, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, gets only 6% of working residents, and 61% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Rockaway residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Rockaway are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker, and quicker than any town next door (27 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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.
Inside Rockaway’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rockaway is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #260 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Rockaway’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.4%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Rockaway could be anywhere from B to A+.
A workday in Rockaway: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,290 residents head out to work, 165 work right here, and 2,953 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 (0.90 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.
6% of working residents work in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township
Where Rockaway clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Rockaway: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockaway workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,040 commuters (the 18% 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.
The kinds of work in Rockaway
3,118 jobs are based in Rockaway.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockaway, 2013 → 2023: 3,788 → 3,118. 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 Rockaway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Rockaway’s workers travel
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.
Rockaway is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rockaway is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #232 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 3,706 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, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 11.4% of Rockaway households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Rockaway’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Rockaway ranks: 893rd of 3,334 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 9,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 891 | Rochelle Park Township NJ | 5,972 | $110K | 5.4% | 8.1% | 4% | A− |
| 892 | Fort Shawnee OH | 6,209 | $90K | 6.3% | 2.0% | 4% | A− |
| 893 | Rockaway NJ | 6,631 | $107K | 6.2% | 6.4% | 5% | A− |
| 894 | Ottawa Township OH | 8,047 | $90K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 27% | A− |
| 895 | Lake San Marcos CA | 4,693 | $90K | 6.0% | 4.1% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,334 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Rockaway, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Rockaway and its neighbors: 10% work next door
The biggest share goes to Rockaway Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockaway workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockaway | – | A− | A | 24 min | $107,053 |
| Rockaway Township | 5% | A | B+ | 30 min | $141,868 |
| Denville Township | 5% | A | A | 30 min | $160,817 |
| White Meadow Lake | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. White Meadow Lake: 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 Rockaway’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 Rockaway: questions
What is the median household income in Rockaway?
$107,053 (±$19,238) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockaway?
6.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockaway?
24 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockaway work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (6%, 6 mi), Rockaway Township (5%, 4 mi), Denville Township (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockaway walkable?
Rockaway is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockaway without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockaway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockaway
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.