Photo: doomsdayklock · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Newark trail those of 74% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 22.2% of residents, where New York as a whole has 14.0%. The two grades for Newark are C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 11.9 in Rochester.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Newark, in a few figures
Commutes from Newark are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Newark and Arcadia trade workers both ways
Arcadia is the top workplace for Newark residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Newark come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Newark is where the jobs are
Newark has 5,676 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Newark than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Newark fell from 7,961 in 2013 to 5,676 in 2023, −29%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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 Newark’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newark is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #550 of 758 in New York. Unemployment holds Newark’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newark could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Newark
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newark workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,482 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Commuting in to Newark: where workers come from
Where Newark clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Who works in Newark, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,827 residents head out to work, 926 work right here, and 4,750 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Newark on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.5 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.
What the 5,676 jobs in Newark are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newark, 2013 → 2023: 7,961 → 5,676. 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 Newark’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Newark
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Newark
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newark is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #252 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Newark 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 3,736 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 39% 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 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 12.3% of Newark households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Newark’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Newark is 2,150th of 2,907 U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | East Rockaway NY | 10,096 | $125K | 2.6% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,148 | Center Line MI | 8,503 | $55K | 16.8% | 6.8% | 4% | C |
| 2,149 | Marengo IL | 7,737 | $74K | 15.7% | 9.8% | 9% | C |
| 2,150 | Newark NY | 8,919 | $60K | 22.2% | 3.0% | 25% | C |
| 2,151 | Ashland VA | 7,982 | $61K | 24.3% | 4.9% | 14% | C |
| 2,152 | Heber CA | 7,312 | $72K | 10.6% | 7.8% | 7% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | 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 Newark, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
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 Newark: questions
What is the median household income in Newark?
$60,006 (±$9,208) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newark?
22.2%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newark?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newark work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Arcadia (25%, 4 mi), Rochester (6%, 28 mi), Lyons (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newark walkable?
Newark is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newark without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newark, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newark
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.