Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Danbury (6.5%) than in 78% of U.S. towns
Danbury grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford. About one in three work in Danbury; the top destination outside it is Bethel (5%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Danbury’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Danbury is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #133 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Danbury’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Danbury could be anywhere from C+ to B.
A workday in Danbury: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 23,739 residents head out to work, 10,589 work right here, and 28,006 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 (1.12 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.
The towns that employ Danbury’s residents
Where Danbury clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
65% of the jobs in Danbury pay over $3,333 a month
38,595 jobs are based in Danbury.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Danbury, 2013 → 2023: 39,845 → 38,595. 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 Danbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Danbury: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Danbury workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 39,927 commuters (the 13% 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 far Danbury goes 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.
Danbury is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Danbury is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #49 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Danbury 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 45,722 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 16% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 8.4% of Danbury households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Danbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
336th of 514: where Danbury ranks among U.S. towns of 62,000 to 120,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | West Hartford CT | 64,242 | $130K | 6.3% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Fairfield CT | 66,262 | $172K | 4.7% | 5.9% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Greenwich CT | 64,801 | $206K | 6.1% | 6.0% | 27% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Bristol CT | 62,341 | $79K | 10.7% | 7.3% | 19% | B− |
| 335 | Green Bay WI | 106,675 | $66K | 14.7% | 3.7% | 38% | B− |
| 336 | Danbury CT | 89,033 | $83K | 11.7% | 6.5% | 31% | B− |
| 337 | Four Corners FL | 65,048 | $73K | 10.5% | 4.8% | 6% | B− |
| 338 | Parma OH | 78,581 | $69K | 10.1% | 6.5% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 514 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Danbury, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
15% of Danbury works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Danbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danbury | – | B− | A− | 30 min | $83,393 |
| Bethel | 5% | A | C+ | 33 min | $116,541 |
| New Fairfield | under 2% | A− | B− | 42 min | $137,647 |
| Ridgefield | 4% | A | B+ | 33 min | $179,219 |
| Ridgebury | under 2% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Brookfield | 4% | A | C | 28 min | $148,360 |
| Taylor Corners | under 2% | — | — | 48 min | — |
| Redding | under 2% | A− | B | 36 min | $186,060 |
Same-state neighbors only. Ridgebury and Taylor Corners: 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 Bethel. Darker towns draw more of Danbury’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 Danbury: questions
What is the median household income in Danbury?
$83,393 (±$6,065) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Danbury?
11.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Danbury?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Danbury work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bethel (5%, 5 mi), New York City (4%, 56 mi), Ridgefield (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Danbury walkable?
Danbury is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Danbury without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Danbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of Danbury
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.