Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Bridgeport (9.0%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 8.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.8 in Stamford. Bridgeport grades C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. 8% of workers work from home (Connecticut 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How Bridgeport earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bridgeport is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #148 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Bridgeport’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bridgeport could be anywhere from C− to C.
How a workday changes Bridgeport
On a workday 40,729 residents head out to work, 10,870 work right here, and 26,882 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.73 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 Bridgeport goes to work
Where Bridgeport clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Bridgeport: what the 37,752 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bridgeport, 2013 → 2023: 39,384 → 37,752. 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 Bridgeport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bridgeport’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bridgeport workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67,147 commuters (the 8% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Bridgeport
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.
In Bridgeport, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bridgeport is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Bridgeport near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 72,706 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 19.5% of Bridgeport households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Bridgeport’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Bridgeport next to U.S. towns of 107,000 to 206,000: 200th of 225 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Stamford CT | 139,535 | $112K | 10.1% | 4.9% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 198 | Sunrise Manor NV | 200,218 | $58K | 20.2% | 9.2% | 7% | C |
| 199 | Thornton Township IL | 152,667 | $59K | 20.8% | 11.8% | 14% | C |
| 200 | Bridgeport CT | 152,273 | $59K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 21% | C |
| 201 | Birmingham AL | 195,893 | $46K | 24.7% | 5.8% | 44% | C |
| 202 | Montgomery AL | 195,300 | $57K | 21.5% | 6.4% | 64% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 208 | New Haven CT | 138,774 | $57K | 23.9% | 8.4% | 43% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Waterbury CT | 115,771 | $52K | 24.7% | 9.3% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Bridgeport, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Next door is work for 19% of Bridgeport
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bridgeport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport | – | C | A+ | 31 min | $58,685 |
| Fairfield | 8% | A− | A | 33 min | $172,432 |
| Trumbull | 4% | A− | A− | 33 min | $163,073 |
| Trumbull Center | under 4% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Stratford | 7% | B+ | A | 30 min | $95,815 |
| Sacred Heart University | under 4% | — | — | 11 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Trumbull Center and Sacred Heart University: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fairfield. Darker towns draw more of Bridgeport’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 Bridgeport: questions
What is the median household income in Bridgeport?
$58,685 (±$1,978) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bridgeport?
21.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bridgeport?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bridgeport work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fairfield (8%, 4 mi), Stratford (7%, 4 mi), New York City (5%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bridgeport walkable?
Bridgeport is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bridgeport without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. 76% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bridgeport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bridgeport
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.