Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 4.0Somerset has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Somerset has 3,018 jobs, against 11,403 working residents. Only 3% work in Somerset itself; outside it, Franklin Township draws the most (11%, 3 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 35 minutes; New Jersey averages 31, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Somerset, in brief
Somerset is a place people come home to
There are 3,018 jobs based in Somerset, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Somerset has about 14,000 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Somerset is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
How a workday changes Somerset
On a workday 11,092 residents head out to work, 311 work right here, and 2,707 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Somerset on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Somerset, 2013 → 2023: 3,569 → 3,018. 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 Somerset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Somerset work
Where Somerset clocks in
11% of workers
9% 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.
How long Somerset spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Somerset workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,231 commuters (the 20% 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 Somerset
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.
Bordering towns draw 13% of Somerset’s workers
The biggest share goes to New Brunswick (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Somerset workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | – | — | — | 35 min | $121,028 |
| Piscataway Township | 4% | A− | A | 26 min | $127,832 |
| Middlebush | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Clyde | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| New Brunswick | 9% | C | A+ | 23 min | $65,810 |
| East Franklin | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Franklin Center | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Voorhees | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Middlebush, Clyde, East Franklin, Franklin Center and Voorhees: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Somerset’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 Somerset: questions
What is the median household income in Somerset?
$121,028 (±$9,222) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Somerset?
4.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Somerset?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Somerset work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Franklin Township (11%, 3 mi), New Brunswick (9%, 3 mi), New York City (5%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Somerset without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Somerset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Somerset
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.