Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Washington has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
1,329 jobs are based in Washington; 3,314 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Washington are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 5% work in Washington; the top destination outside it is Washington Township (5%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Washington and work: the main findings
Where Washington’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #318 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Washington’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where Washington goes to work
Where Washington clocks in
5% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Washington
On a workday 3,151 residents head out to work, 163 work right here, and 1,166 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
The kinds of work in Washington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 1,499 → 1,329. 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 Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 34 minutes from Washington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,292 commuters (the 14% 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 far Washington’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.
Washington 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, Washington is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #277 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Washington 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 3,807 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 6.8% of Washington households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,154 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900, Washington comes 1,174th on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Old Tappan NJ | 6,686 | $205K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,172 | Napoleon OH | 8,680 | $77K | 7.9% | 2.1% | 29% | B+ |
| 1,173 | Montpelier VT | 7,823 | $81K | 6.5% | 2.4% | 33% | B+ |
| 1,174 | Washington NJ | 7,326 | $81K | 8.5% | 3.0% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,175 | Vinton VA | 7,967 | $65K | 10.5% | 0.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,176 | Stranger Township KS | 5,467 | $97K | 8.6% | 4.6% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Washington compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | B+ | A | 34 min | $81,336 |
| Brass Castle | under 2% | — | — | 44 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Brass Castle: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Washington’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 Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Washington?
$81,336 (±$20,144) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
8.5%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
34 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington Township (5%, 2 mi), Raritan Township (4%, 15 mi), New York City (3%, 55 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.