Work & commute · Princeton

Work & commute in Princeton, NJ

About one in 4 of Princeton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are New York (9%), Plainsboro (4%) and Trenton (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

2,885 of 11,347 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

33%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,462 Princeton residents head out of town to work, 2,885 work right here, and 20,867 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Princeton.

8,462live here, work elsewhere

2,885live and work here

20,867work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Princeton goes to work

Princeton (in town)right here

25%2,885

New York, NY43.6 mi away

9%968

Plainsboro4.7 mi away

4%414

Trenton10.6 mi away

4%402

West Windsor5.1 mi away

3%394

Lawrence5.1 mi away

3%362

South Brunswick7.8 mi away

2%208

Montgomery4.7 mi away

2%191

New Brunswick14.7 mi away

2%190

Jersey City39.9 mi away

2%183

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%5,150

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

How far

How far Princeton commutes

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

43%

20%

31%

43%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Princeton is a job hub

2.09jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Princeton are

23,752 jobs are based in Princeton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Princeton

23,752 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)91%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Princeton residents hold

11,347 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month77%

−13%

Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 27,284 → 23,752. 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.