Joseph Bellamy House · Photo: Jerry Dougherty · CC BY 2.5Unemployment in Bethlehem (1.9%) is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Bethlehem is better than 81% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (B). Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. About one in ten work in Bethlehem itself; outside it, Waterbury draws the most (9%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Bethlehem apart
Bethlehem has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Bethlehem went from 600 in 2013 to 952 in 2023, +59%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Bethlehem pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Bethlehem pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Bethlehem’s workforce skews older
36% of Bethlehem’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Bethlehem’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Bethlehem’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (10.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bethlehem could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Bethlehem is a services town
952 jobs are based in Bethlehem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 600 → 952. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Bethlehem
On a workday 1,355 residents head out to work, 127 work right here, and 825 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Bethlehem on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
Where the trip to work from Bethlehem ends
Where Bethlehem clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Commuting from Bethlehem: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bethlehem workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,505 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Bethlehem, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Bethlehem commutes by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across Connecticut, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,747 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of Bethlehem households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bethlehem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700, Bethlehem ranks 813th of 4,535 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Andover CT | 3,173 | $135K | 1.8% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 386 | Lyme CT | 2,424 | $135K | 2.9% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 588 | Salem CT | 4,324 | $123K | 6.2% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 811 | Lambertville NJ | 4,198 | $110K | 3.1% | 6.1% | 7% | A− |
| 812 | Lincoln ND | 4,493 | $88K | 5.6% | 1.1% | 1% | A− |
| 813 | Bethlehem CT | 3,455 | $109K | 10.4% | 1.9% | 9% | A− |
| 814 | South Wheatland Township IL | 3,859 | $94K | 3.9% | 3.1% | 1% | A− |
| 815 | Manlius Township MI | 3,433 | $89K | 6.1% | 0.6% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bethlehem, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Bordering towns draw 13% of Bethlehem’s workers
The biggest share goes to Watertown (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bethlehem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | – | A− | B | 29 min | $108,929 |
| Washington | under 3% | B | A− | 26 min | $101,549 |
| Morris | under 3% | B | C | 29 min | $109,191 |
| Woodbury | 6% | A− | C− | 35 min | $131,480 |
| Watertown | 7% | A | B+ | 24 min | $101,691 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bethlehem’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Bethlehem: questions
What is the median household income in Bethlehem?
$108,929 (±$15,980) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bethlehem?
10.4%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bethlehem?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bethlehem work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waterbury (9%, 10 mi), Watertown (7%, 5 mi), Woodbury (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bethlehem walkable?
Bethlehem is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bethlehem without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bethlehem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bethlehem
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.