Photo: Thundersnow · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Colchester have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Colchester; the top destination outside it is Groton (7%, 22 miles). 3.9% of residents are in poverty (Connecticut 10.0%). Jobs and income earn Colchester A+; getting around on foot earns it C.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Colchester stands out on work
The figures behind Colchester’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colchester is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #11 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Colchester’s grade. 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, Colchester could be anywhere from A to A+.
Where Colchester’s working residents head each day
Where Colchester clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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 workday in Colchester: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,885 residents head out to work, 916 work right here, and 2,562 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Colchester on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
What work there is in Colchester: 3,478 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colchester, 2013 → 2023: 3,222 → 3,478. 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 Colchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Colchester, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colchester workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,808 commuters (the 18% 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 Colchester 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.
In Colchester, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Colchester is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #124 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Colchester 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 8,339 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% 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 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). 5.5% of Colchester households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Colchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
133rd of 2,109: where Colchester ranks among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 122 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Barrington RI | 16,961 | $153K | 4.5% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| 132 | Hobart WI | 11,674 | $103K | 4.2% | 0.5% | 3% | A+ |
| 133 | Colchester CT | 15,825 | $122K | 3.9% | 1.7% | 16% | A+ |
| 134 | Rehoboth MA | 13,567 | $138K | 3.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 135 | Palm Valley FL | 19,796 | $117K | 4.2% | 1.2% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Colchester, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work in the towns next to Colchester
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | – | A+ | C | 30 min | $122,390 |
| Hebron | under 2% | A | C+ | 33 min | $142,500 |
| Lebanon | under 2% | A | D | 31 min | $109,135 |
| East Hampton | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $124,577 |
| East Haddam | under 2% | A− | C− | 30 min | $107,861 |
| Marlborough | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 34 min | $142,105 |
| Salem | under 2% | A | C+ | 32 min | $123,245 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Colchester’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 Colchester: questions
What is the median household income in Colchester?
$122,390 (±$14,194) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colchester?
3.9%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colchester?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colchester work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Groton (7%, 22 mi), Norwich (5%, 13 mi), Hartford (4%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colchester walkable?
Colchester is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colchester without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colchester
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.