Silver Lake at work: jobs, income and the commute
5% of workers have no commute at all, where New Jersey as a whole has 17%. The average commute takes 39 minutes each way, next to 31 for New Jersey and 26 for the U.S. Silver Lake has 1,253 jobs, against 2,095 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Silver Lake
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Silver Lake’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 39 minutes, longer than the New Jersey average of 31. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
51% of the jobs in Silver Lake are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Silver Lake
66% of Silver Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Silver Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. 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.
About 39 minutes each way for Silver Lake’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Silver Lake workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,002 commuters (the 5% 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 Silver Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Silver Lake, 2014 → 2024: 1,179 → 1,253. 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 Silver Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Silver Lake
On a workday 2,079 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 1,237 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Silver Lake on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
12% of working residents work in Newark
Where Silver Lake clocks in
12% of workers
10% 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 distance from Silver Lake to work
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.
Work next door: 12% of Silver Lake’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Silver Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lake | – | — | — | 39 min | $82,469 |
| Newark | 12% | C− | A+ | 33 min | $52,060 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Newark. Darker towns draw more of Silver Lake’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 Silver Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Silver Lake?
$82,469 (±$18,684) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Silver Lake?
15.1%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Silver Lake?
39 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Silver Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newark (12%, 4 mi), New York City (10%, 15 mi), Belleville Township (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Silver Lake without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Silver Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Silver Lake
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.