Work & commute · Elizabeth

Work & commute in Elizabeth, NJ

Most working residents leave Elizabeth for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Newark (10%), New York (8%) and Edison (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

9,171 of 49,106 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 39,935 Elizabeth residents head out of town to work, 9,171 work right here, and 38,172 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elizabeth.

39,935live here, work elsewhere

9,171live and work here

38,172work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elizabeth goes to work

Elizabeth (in town)right here

19%9,171

Newark4.1 mi away

10%4,817

New York, NY13.4 mi away

8%3,829

Edison13.8 mi away

4%1,859

Linden3.5 mi away

3%1,654

Woodbridge8.9 mi away

3%1,581

Union4.4 mi away

3%1,528

Jersey City7.4 mi away

3%1,513

Carteret6 mi away

1%644

Cranford5.8 mi away

1%618

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%21,892

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

How far

How far Elizabeth commutes

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

55%

33%

55%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elizabeth is balanced between jobs and homes

0.96jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Elizabeth are

47,343 jobs are based in Elizabeth. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elizabeth’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elizabeth

47,343 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities45%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Elizabeth residents hold

49,106 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+3%

Jobs based in Elizabeth, 2013 → 2023: 46,136 → 47,343. 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.