Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Norwalk has higher household incomes than 82% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 9.1% of residents, against 10.0% across Connecticut. The two grades for Norwalk are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.3 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
Jobs and commuting in Norwalk: the gist
Norwalk trades workers with the towns around it
Norwalk has about as many jobs (36,354) as working residents (41,845), but they are mostly different people: 32,763 residents leave for work each day while 27,272 people come in. Only 25% of the jobs in Norwalk are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The quickest commute around
Norwalk’s 27-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 31 to 47 minutes. Next door ↓
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 Norwalk’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwalk is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #101 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Norwalk’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, 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, Norwalk could be anywhere from B to A−.
A workday in Norwalk: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 32,763 residents head out to work, 9,082 work right here, and 27,272 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 (0.87 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.
14% of working residents work in Stamford
Where Norwalk clocks in
14% 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.
69% of the jobs in Norwalk pay over $3,333 a month
36,354 jobs are based in Norwalk.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwalk, 2013 → 2023: 40,939 → 36,354. 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 Norwalk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Norwalk: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwalk workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 43,250 commuters (the 15% 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 Norwalk
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.
Norwalk is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwalk is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #10 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Norwalk 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 50,970 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 54% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 8.5% of Norwalk households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Norwalk’s commuters take a bus or train.
Norwalk next to U.S. towns of 66,000 to 128,000: 168th of 476 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Fairfield CT | 66,262 | $172K | 4.7% | 5.9% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Framingham MA | 73,021 | $107K | 10.4% | 4.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 167 | Bloomington MN | 89,034 | $93K | 9.2% | 4.8% | 20% | B+ |
| 168 | Norwalk CT | 94,508 | $108K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 22% | B+ |
| 169 | Niles Township IL | 109,978 | $97K | 8.9% | 5.4% | 14% | B+ |
| 170 | Bolingbrook IL | 74,803 | $108K | 9.2% | 5.7% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 308 | Danbury CT | 89,033 | $83K | 11.7% | 6.5% | 31% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 406 | New Britain CT | 76,286 | $59K | 18.1% | 7.9% | 15% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 476 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Norwalk, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work next door: 12% of Norwalk’s workers
The biggest share goes to Westport (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norwalk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwalk | – | B+ | A | 27 min | $107,616 |
| Darien | 3% | A | A+ | 39 min | $250,000+ |
| Westport | 4% | A | A | 41 min | $250,000+ |
| Tokeneke | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Saugatuck | under 3% | — | — | 47 min | — |
| Old Hill | under 3% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| New Canaan | 2% | A | A | 38 min | $250,000+ |
| Wilton | 3% | A | A− | 36 min | $242,199 |
| Poplar Plains | under 3% | — | — | 43 min | — |
| South Wilton | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Tokeneke, Saugatuck, Old Hill, Poplar Plains and South Wilton: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Norwalk’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 Norwalk: questions
What is the median household income in Norwalk?
$107,616 (±$6,938) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwalk?
9.1%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwalk?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwalk work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stamford (14%, 7 mi), New York City (14%, 40 mi), Greenwich (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwalk walkable?
Norwalk is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwalk without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norwalk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwalk
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.