Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Tenafly has some of the highest household incomes of any U.S. town
3.5% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole. Measured by household income, Tenafly is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Jobs and income earn Tenafly A; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Tenafly, in a few figures
A lot of Tenafly workers cross into New York
32% of Tenafly workers work outside New Jersey, most of them in New York, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Tenafly workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (31 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Tenafly
30% of Tenafly workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
36% of Tenafly works in New York City
2,359 working residents, 36%, have their main job in New York City, NY, 18 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Tenafly itself. The commute map ↓
Three in four Tenafly workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of Tenafly’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Where Tenafly’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tenafly is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #146 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Tenafly’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.8%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Tenafly could be anywhere from A− to A+.
36% of working residents work in New York City
Where Tenafly clocks in
36% of workers
3% 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.
About 40 minutes each way, longer than most of New Jersey
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tenafly workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,809 commuters (the 30% 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.
In Tenafly, services account for most jobs
3,656 jobs are based in Tenafly.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tenafly, 2013 → 2023: 3,588 → 3,656. 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 Tenafly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Tenafly
On a workday 6,202 residents head out to work, 323 work right here, and 3,333 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Tenafly on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.56 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.
Miles to work from Tenafly
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Tenafly
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tenafly is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #104 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Tenafly 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 6,832 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 2.1% of Tenafly households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 17% of Tenafly’s commuters take a bus or train.
Tenafly next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000: 432nd of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | East Greenwich Township NJ | 12,610 | $149K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 430 | Portsmouth RI | 17,474 | $117K | 4.9% | 3.1% | 16% | A |
| 431 | Celebration FL | 13,667 | $96K | 3.8% | 3.3% | 10% | A |
| 432 | Tenafly NJ | 15,237 | $208K | 3.5% | 6.8% | 5% | A |
| 433 | Greendale WI | 14,426 | $95K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 6% | A |
| 434 | Palmer Ranch FL | 16,867 | $103K | 6.9% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Tenafly, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
The towns around Tenafly
The biggest share goes to Englewood (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tenafly workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenafly | – | A | A+ | 40 min | $208,200 |
| Bergenfield | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $130,045 |
| Cresskill | under 2% | A | A+ | 37 min | $170,376 |
| Englewood | 3% | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $102,571 |
| Alpine | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 32 min | $246,944 |
| Englewood Cliffs | 2% | A | A+ | 36 min | $230,611 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Tenafly’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 Tenafly: questions
What is the median household income in Tenafly?
$208,200 (±$17,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tenafly?
3.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tenafly?
40 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tenafly work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (36%, 18 mi), Englewood (3%, 2 mi), Englewood Cliffs (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tenafly walkable?
Tenafly is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tenafly without a car?
17% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tenafly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tenafly
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.