Photo: Josconklin · CC BY-SA 3.0Scotch Plains Township has higher household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. Poverty touches 2.5% of residents, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole. Scotch Plains Township grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Scotch Plains Township at work: what stands out
A lot of Scotch Plains Township works from home
26% of Scotch Plains Township workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Scotch Plains Township draws workers from far and wide
The 5,725 jobs in Scotch Plains Township are filled from a wide area. Scotch Plains Township’s own residents hold 15% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Scotch Plains Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Scotch Plains Township is New York City, NY, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (1,719) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Scotch Plains Township
77% of Scotch Plains Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 57% of the jobs based in Scotch Plains Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Scotch Plains Township is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 7% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Scotch Plains Township
Job access by car is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Scotch Plains Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Scotch Plains Township, about 34 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scotch Plains Township workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,028 commuters (the 25% 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.
14% of working residents work in New York City
Where Scotch Plains Township clocks in
14% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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 commute from Scotch Plains Township, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most jobs in Scotch Plains Township are in services
5,725 jobs are based in Scotch Plains Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scotch Plains Township, 2014 → 2024: 5,436 → 5,725. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Scotch Plains Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Scotch Plains Township by day and by night
On a workday 11,187 residents head out to work, 846 work right here, and 4,879 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Scotch Plains Township on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.48 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Scotch Plains Township is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Scotch Plains Township is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #173 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Scotch Plains Township 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 12,114 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 57% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 1.4% of Scotch Plains Township households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Scotch Plains Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Scotch Plains Township is 21st of 1,516 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 34,000 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 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Genoa Township OH | 27,720 | $177K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 20 | Avon OH | 25,611 | $136K | 3.0% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| 21 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 22 | Short Pump VA | 29,026 | $139K | 3.6% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| 23 | South Fayette Township PA | 18,648 | $124K | 3.6% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Ridgewood NJ | 26,527 | $208K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,516 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | 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 Scotch Plains Township, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Around Scotch Plains Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Westfield (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scotch Plains Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotch Plains Township | – | A+ | A | 34 min | $183,655 |
| Clark Township | under 2% | A+ | A− | 28 min | $133,504 |
| Berkeley Heights Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 37 min | $204,658 |
| Watchung | under 2% | A | A | 34 min | $173,672 |
| Fanwood | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 42 min | $195,529 |
| Westfield | 3% | A+ | A+ | 37 min | $232,629 |
| Plainfield | under 2% | B− | A+ | 30 min | $85,908 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Scotch Plains Township’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 2024, 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 Scotch Plains Township: questions
What is the median household income in Scotch Plains Township?
$183,655 (±$18,502) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scotch Plains Township?
2.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scotch Plains Township?
34 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scotch Plains Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (14%, 23 mi), Newark (4%, 12 mi), Edison Township (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Scotch Plains Township walkable?
Scotch Plains Township is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.7 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scotch Plains Township without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scotch Plains Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scotch Plains Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.