Photo: Nick Harris · CC BY 2.5Household incomes put Spring Lake near the very top of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Spring Lake is among the highest-earning towns in the country. 1.0% of residents live below the poverty line; New Jersey has 9.7%. Spring Lake grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Spring Lake apart on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Spring Lake
69% of Spring Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Spring Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Spring Lake
29% of Spring Lake workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Spring Lake’s workforce skews older
39% of Spring Lake’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Spring Lake pay little
28% of the jobs based in Spring Lake pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
The four measures behind Spring Lake’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Spring Lake is among the top U.S. towns, #15 of 468 in New Jersey. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Spring Lake could be anywhere from A to A+.
Jobs in Spring Lake: what the 887 are
887 jobs are based in Spring Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spring Lake, 2013 → 2023: 868 → 887. 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 Spring Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of New Jersey
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spring Lake workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 845 commuters (the 29% 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.
Spring Lake by day and by night
On a workday 959 residents head out to work, 101 work right here, and 786 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
8% of working residents work in Wall Township
Where Spring Lake clocks in
8% of workers
8% of workers
2% 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.
Miles to work from Spring Lake
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.
Spring Lake is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spring Lake is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #50 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Spring Lake 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 1,193 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 4.5% of Spring Lake households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Spring Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700, Spring Lake ranks 60th of 4,969 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Haworth NJ | 3,422 | $237K | 3.7% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Minneha Township KS | 3,472 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 59 | Mason Neck VA | 2,039 | $168K | 1.1% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 60 | Spring Lake NJ | 2,769 | $216K | 1.0% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 61 | Double Oak TX | 3,051 | $172K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 62 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 63 | Woodbury Heights NJ | 3,162 | $123K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Oldmans Township NJ | 1,954 | $113K | 3.2% | 11.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Spring Lake, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Spring Lake and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Belmar (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spring Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Lake | – | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $215,625 |
| Sea Girt | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $213,750 |
| Lake Como | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $82,045 |
| Belmar | 2% | B | A+ | 32 min | $93,573 |
| Spring Lake Heights | 2% | A− | A+ | 29 min | $106,758 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spring 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 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 Spring Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Spring Lake?
$215,625 (±$84,140) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spring Lake?
1.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spring Lake?
33 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spring Lake work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wall Township (8%, 4 mi), New York City (8%, 36 mi), Spring Lake Heights (2%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Spring Lake walkable?
Spring Lake is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.8 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spring Lake without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spring Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spring Lake
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.