Work & commute · Lakewood

Work & commute in Lakewood, NJ

42% of Lakewood’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are New York (4%), Howell (2%) and Toms River (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

16,897 of 40,149 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 23,252 Lakewood residents head out of town to work, 16,897 work right here, and 31,099 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lakewood.

23,252live here, work elsewhere

16,897live and work here

31,099work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lakewood goes to work

Lakewood (in town)right here

42%16,897

New York, NY42.7 mi away

4%1,601

Howell7 mi away

2%910

Toms River6 mi away

2%905

Brick4.9 mi away

2%843

Jackson8.5 mi away

1%521

Newark44.7 mi away

1%498

Eatontown16.7 mi away

1%390

Trenton31.5 mi away

1%376

Edison30.6 mi away

1%370

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%16,838

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

How far

How far Lakewood commutes

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

51%

12%

24%

12%

51%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lakewood is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lakewood are

47,996 jobs are based in Lakewood. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lakewood’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lakewood

47,996 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Lakewood residents hold

40,149 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+76%

Jobs based in Lakewood, 2013 → 2023: 27,336 → 47,996. 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.