Photo: makemake · CC BY-SA 3.0Milford’s household incomes are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.8 in Stamford. 5.1% of residents live below the poverty line, where Connecticut as a whole has 10.0%. The two grades for Milford are A for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Milford: the figures worth knowing
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Milford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Milford is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #57 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Milford’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, 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, Milford could be anywhere from A− to A.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 18,124 residents head out to work, 4,575 work right here, and 20,779 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.
11% of working residents work in New Haven
Where Milford clocks in
11% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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 25,354 jobs in Milford are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milford, 2013 → 2023: 27,386 → 25,354. 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 Milford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, about the CT average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milford workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,622 commuters (the 18% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Milford
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 Milford, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across Connecticut.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 28,688 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 53% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 4.7% of Milford households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Milford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Milford next to U.S. towns of 38,000 to 72,000: 208th of 815 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Southington CT | 44,242 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.4% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | West Hartford CT | 64,242 | $130K | 6.3% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Wallingford CT | 44,406 | $105K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Jackson Township OH | 43,403 | $94K | 5.6% | 3.1% | 20% | A |
| 207 | Green Township OH | 60,480 | $88K | 4.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| 208 | Milford CT | 53,606 | $111K | 5.1% | 4.4% | 20% | A |
| 209 | Parsippany-Troy Hills Township NJ | 56,633 | $112K | 4.8% | 5.4% | 12% | A |
| 210 | Littleton CO | 46,246 | $99K | 6.1% | 3.8% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 815 | 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 Milford, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
18% of Milford works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Stratford (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Milford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | – | A | A− | 25 min | $110,669 |
| West Haven | 4% | C+ | A | 23 min | $74,382 |
| Stratford | 7% | B+ | A | 30 min | $95,815 |
| Orange | 3% | A+ | B | 28 min | $142,325 |
| Woodmont | under 3% | A+ | A | 29 min | $91,250 |
| Shelton | 4% | A− | B− | 30 min | $108,185 |
| Oronoque | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Oronoque: 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 Milford’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 Milford: questions
What is the median household income in Milford?
$110,669 (±$7,268) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milford?
5.1%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milford?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Milford work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (11%, 9 mi), Stratford (7%, 4 mi), Bridgeport (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Milford walkable?
Milford is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milford without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Milford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milford
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.