Photo: Freeholdman12 · CC BY 4.0Westfield has some of the highest household incomes of any U.S. town
For jobs and income Westfield is better than 98% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+). Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Poverty touches 1.8% of residents, against 9.7% across New Jersey.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Westfield, in a few figures
A lot of Westfield works from home
34% of Westfield workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Westfield draws workers from far and wide
The 8,430 jobs in Westfield are filled from a wide area. Westfield’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Westfield
78% of Westfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 57% of the jobs based in Westfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Westfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Westfield
Household income is its strongest input ($232,629, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westfield stays A+.
Westfield’s commute takes about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westfield workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,930 commuters (the 34% 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.
16% of working residents work in New York City
Where Westfield clocks in
16% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
8,430 jobs are based in Westfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westfield, 2013 → 2023: 9,234 → 8,430. 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 Westfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Westfield, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 11,999 residents head out to work, 954 work right here, and 7,476 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Westfield on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Where in the region Westfield works
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.
In Westfield, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,115 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 3.1% of Westfield households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 18% of Westfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Westfield next to U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000: 20th of 1,283 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| 19 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 20 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| 21 | Bedford NH | 23,973 | $167K | 2.7% | 1.7% | 15% | A+ |
| 22 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Ridgewood NJ | 26,527 | $208K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Westfield, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Westfield and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield | – | A+ | A+ | 37 min | $232,629 |
| Mountainside | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 36 min | $211,538 |
| Scotch Plains Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 34 min | $183,655 |
| Garwood | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $110,670 |
| Cranford Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $155,972 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $155,906 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westfield’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 Westfield: questions
What is the median household income in Westfield?
$232,629 (±$17,720) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westfield?
1.8%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westfield?
37 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westfield work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (16%, 21 mi), Newark (4%, 10 mi), Jersey City (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westfield walkable?
Westfield is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westfield without a car?
18% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westfield
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.