Work & commute · Watchung

Work & commute in Watchung, NJ

Most working residents leave Watchung for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are New York (7%), Warren (3%) and Edison (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

80 of 2,542 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,462 Watchung residents head out of town to work, 80 work right here, and 4,704 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watchung.

2,462live here, work elsewhere

80live and work here

4,704work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watchung goes to work

New York, NY26.1 mi away

7%178

Warren4.4 mi away

3%85

Watchung (in town)right here

3%80

Edison10.6 mi away

3%69

Newark14.9 mi away

3%67

Jersey City20 mi away

3%65

Woodbridge9.4 mi away

2%62

Bridgewater9.5 mi away

2%61

Union9.5 mi away

2%59

Morristown10.8 mi away

2%50

Everywhere elseother towns and states

69%1,766

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

How far

How far Watchung commutes

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

41%

35%

18%

41%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watchung is a job hub

1.88jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Watchung are

4,784 jobs are based in Watchung. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watchung’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watchung

4,784 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities40%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Watchung residents hold

2,542 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month75%

+1%

Jobs based in Watchung, 2013 → 2023: 4,744 → 4,784. 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.