Work & commute · Paterson

Work & commute in Paterson, NJ

Most working residents leave Paterson for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Wayne (4%), Paramus (3%) and Clifton (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

10,365 of 58,693 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 48,328 Paterson residents head out of town to work, 10,365 work right here, and 28,514 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Paterson.

48,328live here, work elsewhere

10,365live and work here

28,514work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Paterson goes to work

Paterson (in town)right here

18%10,365

Wayne4.8 mi away

4%2,351

Paramus5.3 mi away

3%2,006

Clifton3.6 mi away

3%1,983

New York, NY21 mi away

3%1,890

Totowa3.1 mi away

3%1,873

Hackensack6.4 mi away

2%1,427

Fairfield7.7 mi away

2%1,255

Newark13.2 mi away

2%1,179

Passaic4.3 mi away

2%1,107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%33,257

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

How far

How far Paterson commutes

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

64%

23%

64%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Paterson is a commuter town

0.66jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Paterson are

38,879 jobs are based in Paterson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Paterson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Paterson

38,879 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Paterson residents hold

58,693 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+14%

Jobs based in Paterson, 2013 → 2023: 34,032 → 38,879. 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.