Photo: Freeholdman12 · CC BY 4.0At 8.9%, unemployment in Spotswood is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Spotswood are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Spotswood
Spotswood’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Spotswood is New York City, NY, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (412) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Spotswood
71% of Spotswood residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Spotswood pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Spotswood empties out on a workday
About 5,300 people are in Spotswood on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than the 8,200 who live here: 4,100 head out to work and 1,200 come in. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Spotswood than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Spotswood fell from 1,968 in 2014 to 1,435 in 2024, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Jobs & income in Spotswood: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Spotswood is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #277 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Spotswood’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down. 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, Spotswood could be anywhere from B to A+.
How far Spotswood goes 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.
What work there is in Spotswood: 1,435 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spotswood, 2014 → 2024: 1,968 → 1,435. 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 Spotswood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Spotswood, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,095 residents head out to work, 237 work right here, and 1,198 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Spotswood on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
10% of working residents work in New York City
Where Spotswood clocks in
10% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
About 32 minutes each way, about the NJ average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spotswood workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,283 commuters (the 17% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Spotswood
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spotswood is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #270 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Spotswood 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 3,971 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 9.1% of Spotswood households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Spotswood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Spotswood places 937th of 2,956 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,100
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 935 | Byron Township IL | 6,398 | $90K | 6.1% | 2.9% | 12% | A− |
| 936 | East Union Township OH | 6,959 | $73K | 6.9% | 1.5% | 13% | A− |
| 937 | Spotswood NJ | 8,236 | $105K | 4.2% | 8.9% | 5% | A− |
| 938 | Fircrest WA | 6,959 | $114K | 5.7% | 6.8% | 3% | A− |
| 939 | Gulf Park Estates MS | 6,264 | $66K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,956 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Spotswood, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door is work for 10% of Spotswood
The biggest share goes to East Brunswick Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spotswood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotswood | – | A− | A | 32 min | $105,060 |
| Monroe Township | 2% | A− | A− | 40 min | $107,892 |
| Old Bridge Township | 2% | B+ | A | 36 min | $104,587 |
| East Brunswick Township | 6% | A | A | 37 min | $143,343 |
| Helmetta | under 3% | A− | C | 32 min | $98,952 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spotswood’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 Spotswood: questions
What is the median household income in Spotswood?
$105,060 (±$15,063) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spotswood?
4.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spotswood?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spotswood work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (10%, 30 mi), East Brunswick Township (6%, 3 mi), Edison Township (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Spotswood walkable?
Spotswood is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spotswood without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spotswood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spotswood
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.