Photo: Léo Schmitt · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Madison are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Madison A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. The poverty rate is 3.6%, where Connecticut as a whole has 10.0%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Madison: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Madison works from home
30% of Madison workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut. Time on the road ↓
Madison’s workforce skews older
37% of Madison’s working residents are 55 or older. 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.
Jobs & income in Madison: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Madison is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #72 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income holds Madison’s grade up ($167,442, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madison could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
From Madison, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,086 commuters (the 30% 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.
The 4,651 jobs based in Madison
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 4,309 → 4,651. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Madison, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,131 residents head out to work, 998 work right here, and 3,653 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
18% of working residents work in New Haven
Where Madison clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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 commute from Madison, by distance
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 Madison, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Madison is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #43 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Madison 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 8,721 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 2.1% of Madison households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Madison’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Madison is 599th among 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 113 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 597 | Huntington VA | 13,502 | $100K | 7.3% | 4.2% | 1% | A− |
| 598 | Mill Creek WA | 20,902 | $124K | 6.4% | 4.5% | 3% | A− |
| 599 | Madison CT | 17,734 | $167K | 3.6% | 5.3% | 14% | A− |
| 600 | Arroyo Grande CA | 18,123 | $103K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 13% | A− |
| 601 | Newtown Township PA | 19,806 | $148K | 5.5% | 6.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Madison, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Next door to Madison
The biggest share goes to Guilford (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Madison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | – | A− | A− | 30 min | $167,442 |
| Killingworth | under 2% | A | C− | 24 min | $140,655 |
| Guilford | 6% | A | B | 26 min | $137,816 |
| Clinton | 2% | A− | A− | 29 min | $124,824 |
| Durham | under 2% | A | C− | 23 min | $158,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Madison’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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$167,442 (±$16,036) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
3.6%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (18%, 16 mi), Guilford (6%, 4 mi), Branford (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madison walkable?
Madison is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madison without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.