Photo: Jeff Bellinger · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Clinton have higher incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 5.7% of residents; Connecticut has 10.0%. Clinton grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.8 in Stamford.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Clinton and work: the main findings
The figures behind Clinton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clinton is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #91 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income holds Clinton’s grade up ($124,824, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clinton could be anywhere from B to A.
Jobs in Clinton: what the 3,383 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clinton, 2013 → 2023: 3,438 → 3,383. 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 Clinton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Clinton
On a workday 5,478 residents head out to work, 752 work right here, and 2,631 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Clinton on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
10% of working residents work in New Haven
Where Clinton clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Clinton: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clinton workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,458 commuters (the 11% 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.
How many miles Clinton commutes
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Clinton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clinton is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #33 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Clinton 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 7,284 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 4.8% of Clinton households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Clinton’s commuters take a bus or train.
897th of 2,526: where Clinton ranks among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 148 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Colchester CT | 15,825 | $122K | 3.9% | 1.7% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 895 | Pasadena Hills FL | 13,505 | $85K | 4.3% | 3.3% | 1% | A− |
| 896 | Pella IA | 10,992 | $84K | 6.0% | 1.1% | 41% | A− |
| 897 | Clinton CT | 13,439 | $125K | 5.7% | 4.9% | 12% | A− |
| 898 | New Scotland NY | 9,299 | $123K | 6.4% | 4.7% | 7% | A− |
| 899 | Frankfort Square IL | 9,560 | $127K | 6.4% | 7.4% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Clinton, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Clinton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Madison (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clinton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | – | A− | A− | 29 min | $124,824 |
| Madison | 5% | A− | A− | 30 min | $167,442 |
| Killingworth | under 3% | A | C− | 24 min | $140,655 |
| Westbrook | 4% | A− | A | 21 min | $91,202 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clinton’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 Clinton: questions
What is the median household income in Clinton?
$124,824 (±$13,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clinton?
5.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clinton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clinton work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (10%, 20 mi), Guilford (5%, 10 mi), Madison (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clinton walkable?
Clinton is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clinton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clinton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clinton
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.