Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Sparta Township top those of 97% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 4.0%, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole. Jobs and income earn Sparta Township A−; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in seven work in Sparta Township itself; outside it, New York City draws the most (4%, 45 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sparta Township, in a few figures
No single place dominates Sparta Township’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 4% of working residents, and 66% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Sparta Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Sparta Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Sparta Township draws workers from far and wide
The 6,023 jobs in Sparta Township are filled from a wide area. Sparta Township’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Sparta Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sparta Township is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #218 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Sparta Township’s grade up ($167,963, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sparta Township could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where Sparta Township goes to work
Where Sparta Township clocks in
4% 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 trip to work from Sparta Township: about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sparta Township workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,070 commuters (the 22% 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 a workday changes Sparta Township
On a workday 7,670 residents head out to work, 1,108 work right here, and 4,915 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Sparta Township on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 2023, primary jobs.
Inside Sparta Township’s 6,023 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sparta Township, 2013 → 2023: 5,313 → 6,023. 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 Sparta Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Sparta Township’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.
Few in Sparta Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sparta Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #393 of 468 in New Jersey. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 13.2% across New Jersey, on an EPA index of 6.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,290 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.0% of Sparta Township households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Sparta Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Sparta Township is 607th among 1,931 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Berkeley Heights Township NJ | 15,140 | $205K | 1.9% | 3.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 605 | Gardendale AL | 16,425 | $82K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 606 | Hudson NH | 26,001 | $124K | 4.6% | 5.0% | 13% | A− |
| 607 | Sparta Township NJ | 20,431 | $168K | 4.0% | 5.4% | 13% | A− |
| 608 | Rolling Meadows IL | 23,690 | $99K | 8.5% | 3.9% | 6% | A− |
| 609 | Newburyport MA | 19,148 | $140K | 5.0% | 5.1% | 23% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Sparta Township, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door to Sparta Township
The biggest share goes to Jefferson Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sparta Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Township | – | A− | B | 38 min | $167,963 |
| Ogdensburg | under 2% | B | B− | 34 min | $105,551 |
| Hardyston Township | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 40 min | $120,392 |
| Lafayette Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 33 min | $129,038 |
| Andover Township | under 2% | A | B− | 36 min | $142,225 |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | A | B+ | 37 min | $119,836 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sparta 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 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 Sparta Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sparta Township?
$167,963 (±$21,913) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sparta Township?
4.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sparta Township?
38 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sparta Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (4%, 45 mi), Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (4%, 17 mi), Morristown (3%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sparta Township walkable?
Sparta Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sparta Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sparta Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sparta Township
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.