Work & commute · Ocean

Work & commute in Ocean, NJ

Most working residents leave Ocean for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are New York (7%), Eatontown (4%) and Long Branch (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,304 of 12,022 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,718 Ocean residents head out of town to work, 1,304 work right here, and 8,607 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ocean.

10,718live here, work elsewhere

1,304live and work here

8,607work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ocean goes to work

Ocean (in town)right here

11%1,304

New York, NY28.6 mi away

7%787

Eatontown2.8 mi away

4%502

Long Branch3.6 mi away

4%489

Neptune3 mi away

4%471

Wall7.1 mi away

3%419

Tinton Falls3.5 mi away

3%413

Middletown10.6 mi away

2%288

Asbury Park2.5 mi away

2%257

West Long Branch2.4 mi away

2%253

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%6,839

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

How far

How far Ocean commutes

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

46%

17%

30%

46%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ocean is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ocean are

9,911 jobs are based in Ocean. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ocean’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ocean

9,911 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Ocean residents hold

12,022 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+14%

Jobs based in Ocean, 2013 → 2023: 8,727 → 9,911. 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.