Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, NJ

Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Philadelphia (6%), Logan (6%) and Carneys Point (5%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

161 of 2,243 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 2,082 Salem residents head out of town to work, 161 work right here, and 2,620 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

2,082live here, work elsewhere

161live and work here

2,620work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Salem (in town)right here

7%161

Philadelphia, PA35.4 mi away

6%136

Logan16.7 mi away

6%127

Carneys Point8.9 mi away

5%117

Pennsville4.3 mi away

2%49

Vineland26.3 mi away

2%45

Woolwich14.4 mi away

2%45

Camden32 mi away

2%43

Quinton5.1 mi away

2%39

Cherry Hill34.3 mi away

2%38

Everywhere elseother towns and states

64%1,443

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

How far

How far Salem commutes

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

21%

28%

31%

20%

21%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

2,781 jobs are based in Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salem

2,781 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities54%

Services (health, schools, offices…)30%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month83%

Jobs Salem residents hold

2,243 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+105%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 1,355 → 2,781. 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.