Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Hamden earn more than those in 76% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 9.3% of residents (Connecticut 10.0%). Hamden grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in ten stay in Hamden for work; outside it, New Haven is the main destination (28%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hamden: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Hamden works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Hamden: New Haven (28%), North Haven (5%) and Wallingford (3%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Hamden are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Connecticut worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Hamden’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hamden is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #111 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Hamden’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hamden could be anywhere from B to A−.
About 22 minutes each way for Hamden’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hamden workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26,636 commuters (the 16% 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.
Hamden quiets down on a workday
On a workday 24,793 residents head out to work, 3,008 work right here, and 15,691 people come in from elsewhere.
About 53,000 people are in Hamden on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Where people from Hamden work
Where Hamden clocks in
28% 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.
The 18,699 jobs based in Hamden
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hamden, 2013 → 2023: 19,056 → 18,699. 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 Hamden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Hamden 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.
Hamden is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 31,823 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 88% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 50% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 8.0% of Hamden households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Hamden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Hamden is 366th among 720 U.S. towns of 43,000 to 83,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Southington CT | 44,242 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.4% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | West Hartford CT | 64,242 | $130K | 6.3% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Wallingford CT | 44,406 | $105K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 364 | Plymouth MA | 67,846 | $117K | 6.8% | 5.8% | 24% | B+ |
| 365 | St. Clair Shores MI | 57,872 | $74K | 8.4% | 4.4% | 9% | B+ |
| 366 | Hamden CT | 61,824 | $98K | 9.3% | 5.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 367 | San Rafael CA | 59,410 | $119K | 11.7% | 5.4% | 19% | B+ |
| 368 | Bloomington IL | 78,804 | $77K | 11.0% | 2.7% | 46% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 720 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Hamden, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Bordering towns draw 36% of Hamden’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hamden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamden | – | B+ | A | 22 min | $98,306 |
| North Haven | 5% | A+ | A− | 22 min | $132,689 |
| New Haven | 28% | C− | A+ | 22 min | $56,851 |
| Bethany | under 2% | A+ | B | 32 min | $166,236 |
| Woodbridge | under 2% | A− | C+ | 25 min | $188,750 |
| Cheshire | under 2% | A | A− | 29 min | $146,528 |
| Wallingford | 3% | A | B+ | 24 min | $104,773 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New Haven. Darker towns draw more of Hamden’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 Hamden: questions
What is the median household income in Hamden?
$98,306 (±$6,924) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hamden?
9.3%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hamden?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hamden work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (28%, 6 mi), North Haven (5%, 4 mi), Bridgeport (4%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hamden walkable?
Hamden is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hamden without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 50% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hamden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hamden
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.