Households in Watchung earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Watchung grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability. Poverty touches 1.2% of residents; New Jersey has 9.7%. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Watchung
No single place dominates Watchung’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 7% of working residents, and 69% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Watchung residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Watchung is where the jobs are
Watchung has 4,784 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Watchung
75% of Watchung residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Watchung pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Watchung
27% of Watchung workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Watchung are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. 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 Watchung’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watchung is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #107 of 468 in New Jersey. The poverty rate holds Watchung’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (6.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watchung could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily trip into Watchung
Where Watchung clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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 daily commute in and out of Watchung
On a workday 2,462 residents head out to work, 80 work right here, and 4,704 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,800 people are in Watchung on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Watchung’s 4,784 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watchung, 2013 → 2023: 4,744 → 4,784. 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 Watchung’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 34 minutes each way, longer than most of New Jersey
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watchung workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,328 commuters (the 27% 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.
The distance from Watchung to work
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: Watchung
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watchung is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #273 of 468 in New Jersey. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 13.2% across New Jersey, on an EPA index of 7.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,194 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 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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 Watchung households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Watchung’s commuters take a bus or train.
Watchung is 352nd of 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Mountain Lakes NJ | 4,649 | $250K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | Innsbrook VA | 8,578 | $129K | 5.0% | 3.6% | 11% | A |
| 351 | Rumson NJ | 7,157 | $250K | 3.2% | 4.5% | 7% | A |
| 352 | Watchung NJ | 6,583 | $174K | 1.2% | 6.1% | 3% | A |
| 353 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| 354 | Harlem Township OH | 5,113 | $122K | 7.4% | 2.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 Watchung, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Watchung compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Warren Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watchung workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watchung | – | A | A | 34 min | $173,672 |
| Berkeley Heights Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 37 min | $204,658 |
| Scotch Plains Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $183,655 |
| Green Brook Township | under 2% | A | A | 30 min | $208,375 |
| Plainfield | under 2% | B− | A+ | 30 min | $85,908 |
| North Plainfield | under 2% | B− | A | 31 min | $87,349 |
| Warren Township | 3% | A+ | A− | 33 min | $204,063 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Watchung’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 Watchung: questions
What is the median household income in Watchung?
$173,672 (±$13,493) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watchung?
1.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watchung?
34 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watchung work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (7%, 26 mi), Warren Township (3%, 4 mi), Edison Township (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watchung walkable?
Watchung is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watchung without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watchung, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watchung
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.