Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Hartford (10.7%) is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 20% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #153 of 155 in Connecticut.
Walkability A+: among the most walkable U.S. towns · #2 of 155 in Connecticut.
Household incomes here are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 23 minutes each way (Connecticut 27, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Hartford; the top destination outside it is Windsor (6%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Hartford
Hartford is where the jobs are
Hartford has 105,086 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 184,000 people are in town, 51% more than the 122,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Hartford pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in Hartford pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 49% of the jobs Hartford residents hold. 89% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Hartford. The jobs ↓
Most Hartford residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Hartford works one town over
25% of working residents work in a town that borders Hartford: West Hartford (6%), Windsor (6%) and Bloomfield (6%). Next door ↓
Nearly all the work in Hartford is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Hartford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hartford is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #153 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Hartford’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (10.7%, U.S. 5.2%).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hartford stays C−.
Hartford fills up on a workday
On a workday 31,425 residents head out to work, 11,364 work right here, and 93,722 people come in from elsewhere.
About 184,000 people are in Hartford on a workday afternoon, 51% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
105,086 jobs are based in Hartford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hartford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hartford, 2013 → 2023: 116,616 → 105,086. 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.
Half of Hartford commutes less than 7 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Where Hartford’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Hartford clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Connecticut
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hartford workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46,990 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Hartford is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hartford is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #2 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Hartford 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 51,891 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 90% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 42.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 30.6% of Hartford households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Hartford’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Hartford compares with U.S. towns of 85,000 to 165,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Hartford, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Stamford CT | 139,535 | $112K | 10.1% | 4.9% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Norwalk CT | 94,508 | $108K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 22% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Danbury CT | 89,033 | $83K | 11.7% | 6.5% | 31% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 331 | Killeen TX | 161,883 | $61K | 17.4% | 9.7% | 22% | C− |
| 332 | Peoria City Township IL | 95,876 | $52K | 23.4% | 8.3% | 46% | C− |
| 333 | Hartford CT | 121,981 | $46K | 26.3% | 10.7% | 27% | C− |
| 334 | Calumet Township IN | 89,730 | $47K | 27.4% | 8.8% | 17% | C− |
| 335 | Wayne Township IN | 111,761 | $49K | 23.2% | 8.1% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 344 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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.
25% of Hartford works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to West Hartford (6%). Darker towns draw more of Hartford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hartford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | – | C− | A+ | 23 min | $46,411 |
| West Hartford | 6% | A | A | 22 min | $129,890 |
| Windsor | 6% | A− | A− | 21 min | $104,725 |
| East Hartford | 4% | B− | A | 22 min | $70,778 |
| Wethersfield | under 3% | A | A− | 21 min | $126,806 |
| Blue Hills | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Bloomfield | 6% | A− | A− | 23 min | $98,725 |
| Newington | 3% | A | A− | 21 min | $102,884 |
| South Windsor | under 3% | A+ | B− | 23 min | $144,961 |
Same-state neighbors only. Blue Hills: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Hartford: questions
What is the median household income in Hartford?
$46,411 (±$3,031) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hartford?
26.3%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hartford?
23 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hartford work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Windsor (6%, 7 mi), Bloomfield (6%, 6 mi), West Hartford (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hartford walkable?
Hartford is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hartford without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 31% of households have no car. 90% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hartford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hartford
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.