Work & commute · Clifton

Work & commute in Clifton, NJ

Most working residents leave Clifton for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are New York (10%), Paterson (6%) and Passaic (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

3,812 of 39,029 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 35,217 Clifton residents head out of town to work, 3,812 work right here, and 29,391 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Clifton.

35,217live here, work elsewhere

3,812live and work here

29,391work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Clifton goes to work

New York, NY18 mi away

10%4,040

Clifton (in town)right here

10%3,812

Paterson3.6 mi away

6%2,250

Passaic1.7 mi away

4%1,470

Newark9.6 mi away

3%1,357

Paramus7.5 mi away

3%986

Wayne7.3 mi away

2%952

Fairfield7.7 mi away

2%773

Hackensack6.3 mi away

2%762

Jersey City11.6 mi away

2%740

Everywhere elseother towns and states

56%21,887

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Clifton commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

59%

30%

59%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Clifton is balanced between jobs and homes

0.85jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Clifton are

33,203 jobs are based in Clifton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clifton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Clifton

33,203 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Clifton residents hold

39,029 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+10%

Jobs based in Clifton, 2013 → 2023: 30,163 → 33,203. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.