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Work & commute in Silver Lake · A commuter town

100% of Silver Lake’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Silver Lake for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Newark (12%), New York (9%) and Jersey City (4%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Work in town
0%
9 of 2,015 working residents
Typical commute
9 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
39 min
More than NJ (31 min)
Work from home
5%
Less than NJ (17%)
Jobs based here
1,142
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Silver Lake?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

12% of working residents work in Newark

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

East OrangeHackensack: 33 residents work here (2%)Secaucus: 41 residents work here (2%)Paterson: 39 residents work here (2%)CliftonElizabeth: 35 residents work here (2%)Jersey City: 73 residents work here (4%)Newark: 245 residents work here (12%)New York: 191 residents work here (9%)City of OrangeMontclair: 44 residents work here (2%)UnionBelleville: 73 residents work here (4%)Bloomfield: 56 residents work here (3%)Silver LakeNewarkNew YorkJersey CityBellevilleBloomfieldMontclairSilver Lake
1
Newark3.9 mi away
12%245
2
New York, NY15.2 mi away
9%191
3
Jersey City7.8 mi away
4%73
4
Belleville1.5 mi away
4%73
5
Bloomfield2 mi away
3%56
6
Montclair3.4 mi away
2%44
7
Secaucus6.1 mi away
2%41
8
Paterson9.3 mi away
2%39
9
Elizabeth7.9 mi away
2%35
10
Hackensack10.4 mi away
2%33
Everywhere elseother towns and states
59%1,185
The top trips

Where Silver Lake clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Next door

16% of Silver Lake works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Newark (12%). Darker towns draw more of Silver Lake’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Belleville32 min
Newark33 min
Silver Lake39 min
Time on the road

About 39 minutes each way, longer than most of New Jersey

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
297 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Silver Lake39 min
New Jersey31 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of Silver Lake workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
Day and night

Silver Lake quiets down on a workday

On a workday 2,006 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 1,133 people come in from elsewhere.

2,006live here, work elsewhere
9live and work here
1,133work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night3,900
Workday3,000
3,900live here− 2,000head out to work+ 1,100come in to work= 3,000on a workday

About 3,000 people are in Silver Lake on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.57jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Silver Lake commutes less than 9 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miNewark: 12% · 3.9 miNew York: 9% · 15.2 miJersey City: 4% · 7.8 miBelleville: 4% · 1.5 miBloomfield: 3% · 2 miMontclair: 2% · 3.4 miSecaucus: 2% · 6.1 miPaterson: 2% · 9.3 miElizabeth: 2% · 7.9 miHackensack: 2% · 10.4 miNewark 12%New York 9%Jersey City 4%Belleville 4%Bloomfield 3%Silver Lake
Silver LakeTop destinations (size = commuters)
58%Under 10 mi1,165 residents
31%10–24 mi618 residents
8%25–50 mi162 residents
3%Over 50 mi70 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 1,142 jobs in Silver Lake are

1,142 jobs are based in Silver Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Silver Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Silver LakeJobs Silver Lake residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms15%9%
Trade, transport & utilities53%24%
Services: health, schools, offices32%66%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month38%25%
Over $3,333 a month39%64%

Who does it

29 or younger27%21%
30 to 5445%56%
55 and older27%23%
−3%

Jobs based in Silver Lake, 2013 → 2023: 1,173 → 1,142. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Silver Lake

Silver Lake home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Silver Lake, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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