Photo: Sphilbrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Bolton has higher household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
Bolton grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 7.2%, where Connecticut as a whole has 10.0%. Only 5% stay in Bolton for work; outside it, Hartford is the main destination (13%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Bolton, in brief
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Bolton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bolton is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #15 of 155 in Connecticut. Unemployment is its strongest input (1.3%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bolton could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Factories, building and farms: 40% of the jobs in Bolton
1,108 jobs are based in Bolton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bolton, 2013 → 2023: 1,221 → 1,108. 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 Bolton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Bolton
On a workday 2,184 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 984 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,700 people are in Bolton on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.48 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 Bolton ends
Where Bolton clocks in
13% of workers
13% 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.
A commute of about 25 minutes in Bolton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bolton workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,927 commuters (the 21% 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 distance from Bolton to work
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.
Getting around Bolton: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bolton is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #108 of 155 in Connecticut. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.5% 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 2,430 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 1.1% of Bolton households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Bolton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Bolton ranks: 237th of 3,840 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Bethany CT | 5,339 | $166K | 2.3% | 1.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | East Granby CT | 5,432 | $121K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 235 | Lodi Township MI | 6,281 | $138K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 3% | A |
| 236 | Green Tree PA | 4,672 | $92K | 6.4% | 0.3% | 6% | A |
| 237 | Bolton CT | 4,875 | $126K | 7.2% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| 238 | Washington Township IL | 6,498 | $102K | 3.0% | 1.6% | 14% | A |
| 239 | Eucalyptus Hills CA | 5,840 | $144K | 3.3% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 479 | Killingworth CT | 6,288 | $141K | 3.0% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,840 | 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 Bolton, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
The towns next door employ 17% of Bolton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bolton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton | – | A | C+ | 25 min | $126,364 |
| Manchester | 13% | B | A | 23 min | $86,840 |
| Vernon | under 3% | B− | A− | 27 min | $85,356 |
| Andover | under 3% | A+ | C | 25 min | $134,632 |
| Hebron | under 3% | A | C+ | 33 min | $142,500 |
| Glastonbury | 4% | A+ | C+ | 24 min | $157,192 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Manchester. Darker towns draw more of Bolton’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 Bolton: questions
What is the median household income in Bolton?
$126,364 (±$19,264) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bolton?
7.2%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bolton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bolton work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hartford (13%, 13 mi), Manchester (13%, 4 mi), East Hartford (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bolton walkable?
Bolton is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bolton without a car?
1% 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 Bolton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bolton
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.