Work & commute · Middlesex

Work & commute in Middlesex, NJ

Most working residents leave Middlesex for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Bridgewater (5%), Franklin (5%) and Piscataway (5%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

517 of 7,177 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 6,660 Middlesex residents head out of town to work, 517 work right here, and 4,678 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Middlesex.

6,660live here, work elsewhere

517live and work here

4,678work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Middlesex goes to work

Middlesex (in town)right here

7%517

Bridgewater5.7 mi away

5%390

Franklin7.3 mi away

5%356

Piscataway2.8 mi away

5%328

Edison9.2 mi away

4%313

New York, NY30 mi away

4%312

New Brunswick6.7 mi away

3%238

South Plainfield4.4 mi away

3%206

Branchburg11.5 mi away

2%174

Woodbridge10.9 mi away

2%165

Everywhere elseother towns and states

58%4,178

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

How far

How far Middlesex commutes

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

51%

29%

16%

51%Under 10 mi

29%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Middlesex is a commuter town

0.72jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Middlesex are

5,195 jobs are based in Middlesex. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Middlesex’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Middlesex

5,195 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Middlesex residents hold

7,177 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+10%

Jobs based in Middlesex, 2013 → 2023: 4,726 → 5,195. 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.