Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Newtown have higher incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Newtown are A+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 2.0% of residents, against 10.0% across Connecticut. 32% of workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Newtown, in brief
Newtown is where the jobs are
Newtown has 1,719 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Newtown and Newtown trade workers both ways
Newtown is the top workplace for Newtown residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Newtown come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Newtown works from home
32% of Newtown workers work from home, against 16% across Connecticut. 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; with 977 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Newtown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newtown is better than 96% of U.S. towns. Household income is its strongest input ($164,821, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newtown could be anywhere from A to A+.
Newtown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 920 residents head out to work, 57 work right here, and 1,662 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Newtown on a workday afternoon, 37% more than live here.
1.8 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.
Where Newtown’s workers come from
Where Newtown clocks in
15% of workers
14% of workers
5% 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.
About 27 minutes each way, about the CT average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newtown workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 689 commuters (the 32% 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 1,719 jobs based in Newtown
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newtown, 2013 → 2023: 2,236 → 1,719. 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 Newtown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Newtown
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.
Getting around Newtown: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newtown is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 1,008 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.8% of Newtown households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Newtown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Newtown places 155th of 5,509 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Laketown Township MN | 2,005 | $150K | 1.4% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 154 | Concord WI | 1,964 | $108K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 2% | A+ |
| 155 | Newtown CT | 1,980 | $165K | 2.0% | 3.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 156 | Dunlap IL | 1,588 | $142K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| 157 | Island Heights NJ | 1,731 | $109K | 1.5% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Woodmont CT | 2,391 | $91K | 1.9% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 179 | Bridgewater CT | 1,677 | $159K | 3.0% | 3.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 322 | Lyme CT | 2,424 | $135K | 2.9% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Newtown, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
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 Newtown: questions
What is the median household income in Newtown?
$164,821 (±$27,468) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newtown?
2.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newtown?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newtown work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newtown (15%, 1 mi), Danbury (14%, 9 mi), Stamford (5%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newtown walkable?
Newtown is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newtown without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newtown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newtown
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.