Oakland is a somewhat small borough located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 12,653 people and three associated neighborhoods, Oakland is the 151st largest community in New Jersey. Housing costs in Oakland are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.Oakland is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 89.24% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Oakland is a borough of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Oakland who work in management occupations (16.55%), sales jobs (11.73%), and office and administrative support (11.57%). Also of interest is that Oakland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 16.78% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Because of many things, Oakland is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Oakland really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Oakland perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. In Oakland, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 30.99 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. Even though Oakland is a smaller borough, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.If knowledge is power, Oakland is a pretty powerful place. 54.20% of the adults in Oakland have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Oakland in 2022 was $62,874, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $251,496 for a family of four. Oakland is a somewhat ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Oakland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oakland residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Oakland also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.71% of the borough’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Oakland include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, and English. Foreign born people are also an important part of Oakland's cultural character, accounting for 15.12% of the borough’s population. The most common language spoken in Oakland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.
