Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Cheshire top those of 95% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford. Below the poverty line: 5.0% of residents (Connecticut 10.0%). Jobs and income earn Cheshire A; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Cheshire and work: the main findings
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Cheshire
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cheshire is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #37 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income is its strongest input ($146,528, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cheshire could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Cheshire on a workday afternoon
On a workday 11,861 residents head out to work, 1,805 work right here, and 14,489 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
11% of working residents work in New Haven
Where Cheshire clocks in
11% 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.
65% of the jobs in Cheshire pay over $3,333 a month
16,294 jobs are based in Cheshire.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cheshire, 2013 → 2023: 14,476 → 16,294. 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 Cheshire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Cheshire, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cheshire workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,994 commuters (the 19% 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.
Miles to work from Cheshire
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 Cheshire, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cheshire is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #55 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Cheshire 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 13,588 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 42% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 4.1% of Cheshire households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Cheshire’s commuters take a bus or train.
Cheshire is 231st of 1,334 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | North Haven CT | 24,799 | $133K | 4.1% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Glastonbury CT | 35,503 | $157K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | South Windsor CT | 27,036 | $145K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 229 | Marple Township PA | 24,323 | $124K | 5.3% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| 230 | Los Gatos CA | 32,576 | $218K | 4.2% | 5.0% | 8% | A |
| 231 | Cheshire CT | 30,983 | $147K | 5.0% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 232 | Raritan Township NJ | 25,281 | $165K | 3.4% | 4.2% | 12% | A |
| 233 | Papillion NE | 25,127 | $112K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Cheshire, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
20% of Cheshire works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Wallingford (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cheshire workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | – | A | A− | 29 min | $146,528 |
| Prospect | under 3% | A | C | 28 min | $126,394 |
| Southington | 3% | A | C+ | 24 min | $124,309 |
| Meriden | 3% | C+ | A | 23 min | $71,253 |
| Wallingford | 5% | A | B+ | 24 min | $104,773 |
| Waterbury | 5% | C− | A | 28 min | $51,886 |
| Hamden | 4% | B+ | A | 22 min | $98,306 |
| Wolcott | under 3% | A | C | 30 min | $110,850 |
| Bethany | under 3% | A+ | B | 32 min | $166,236 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cheshire’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 Cheshire: questions
What is the median household income in Cheshire?
$146,528 (±$11,751) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cheshire?
5.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cheshire?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cheshire work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (11%, 14 mi), Wallingford (5%, 6 mi), Waterbury (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cheshire walkable?
Cheshire is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cheshire without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cheshire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cheshire
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.