Work & commute · Kearny

Work & commute in Kearny, NJ

Most working residents leave Kearny for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are New York (17%), Newark (10%) and Jersey City (5%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,647 of 18,176 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 16,529 Kearny residents head out of town to work, 1,647 work right here, and 14,028 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kearny.

16,529live here, work elsewhere

1,647live and work here

14,028work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kearny goes to work

New York, NY11.5 mi away

17%3,156

Newark3.2 mi away

10%1,794

Kearny (in town)right here

9%1,647

Jersey City4.2 mi away

5%877

Secaucus3.6 mi away

2%400

Elizabeth7 mi away

2%374

Harrison1.7 mi away

2%352

Clifton7.8 mi away

2%275

Hackensack10.3 mi away

1%229

North Arlington2.3 mi away

1%216

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%8,856

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

How far

How far Kearny commutes

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

54%

36%

54%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kearny is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Kearny are

15,675 jobs are based in Kearny. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kearny’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kearny

15,675 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities45%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Kearny residents hold

18,176 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+28%

Jobs based in Kearny, 2013 → 2023: 12,290 → 15,675. 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.