Photo: Dmadeo · CC BY-SA 3.0Guilford has higher household incomes than 93% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Guilford for work; outside it, New Haven is the main destination (21%, 12 miles). Below the poverty line: 2.8% of residents, against 10.0% across Connecticut. Jobs and income earn Guilford A; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Guilford’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Guilford is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #58 of 155 in Connecticut. The poverty rate holds Guilford’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Guilford could be anywhere from A− to A.
The daily flow of workers through Guilford
On a workday 8,129 residents head out to work, 1,480 work right here, and 5,931 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Guilford on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
Where Guilford’s working residents head each day
Where Guilford clocks in
21% 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.
What the 7,411 jobs in Guilford are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Guilford, 2013 → 2023: 6,149 → 7,411. 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 Guilford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way for Guilford’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Guilford workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,297 commuters (the 22% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Guilford
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.
Few in Guilford walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Guilford is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #80 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Guilford 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 10,590 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 46% 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). 3.0% of Guilford households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Guilford’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Guilford ranks: 413th of 1,658 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | North Haven CT | 24,799 | $133K | 4.1% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | South Windsor CT | 27,036 | $145K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 411 | Norco CA | 25,081 | $128K | 5.6% | 4.8% | 8% | A |
| 412 | Glen Ellyn IL | 28,750 | $141K | 6.3% | 5.3% | 8% | A |
| 413 | Guilford CT | 22,322 | $138K | 2.8% | 4.9% | 15% | A |
| 414 | Walnut CA | 27,316 | $129K | 10.1% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| 415 | Lake St. Louis MO | 19,129 | $126K | 4.3% | 4.7% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | 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 Guilford, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Bordering towns draw 11% of Guilford’s workers
The biggest share goes to Branford (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Guilford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilford | – | A | B | 26 min | $137,816 |
| Madison | 4% | A− | A− | 30 min | $167,442 |
| Branford | 5% | A− | A− | 24 min | $105,225 |
| North Branford | 2% | A− | C | 26 min | $108,032 |
| Northford | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Durham | under 3% | A | C− | 23 min | $158,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Northford: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Guilford’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 Guilford: questions
What is the median household income in Guilford?
$137,816 (±$11,388) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Guilford?
2.8%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Guilford?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Guilford work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (21%, 12 mi), Branford (5%, 6 mi), Madison (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Guilford walkable?
Guilford is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Guilford without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Guilford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Guilford
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.