Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Norwich has higher unemployment (8.2%) than 89% 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. Jobs and income earn Norwich C; getting around on foot earns it A. Home is the office for 7% of workers, next to 16% for Connecticut as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Norwich’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwich is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #147 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Norwich’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norwich could be anywhere from C− to C+.
In and out of Norwich on a workday
On a workday 14,546 residents head out to work, 3,165 work right here, and 10,921 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 (0.80 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.
12% of working residents work in Montville
Where Norwich clocks in
12% of workers
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Norwich
14,086 jobs are based in Norwich.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwich, 2013 → 2023: 15,569 → 14,086. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Norwich’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of Connecticut
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwich workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,607 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far Norwich’s workers travel
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.
Norwich is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwich is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #31 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 18,982 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% 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). 11.5% of Norwich households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Norwich’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,086 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000, Norwich comes 953rd 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 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Glastonbury CT | 35,503 | $157K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Farmington CT | 28,632 | $141K | 4.2% | 2.7% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Westport CT | 28,301 | $250K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 951 | Lincoln Park MI | 38,529 | $59K | 21.5% | 8.4% | 4% | C |
| 952 | Ridgecrest CA | 28,333 | $89K | 12.5% | 7.6% | 43% | C |
| 953 | Norwich CT | 40,001 | $65K | 16.7% | 8.2% | 18% | C |
| 954 | Pittsfield MA | 42,909 | $71K | 14.9% | 7.0% | 52% | C |
| 955 | Enid OK | 50,297 | $62K | 13.7% | 5.3% | 57% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | 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 Norwich, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
12% of Norwich works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norwich workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwich | – | C | A | 24 min | $65,024 |
| Montville | 12% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $96,454 |
| Bozrah | under 2% | A− | C− | 29 min | $108,516 |
| Preston | under 2% | A− | D | 22 min | $116,648 |
| Lisbon | under 2% | B+ | B | 32 min | $92,708 |
| Sprague | under 2% | B | B− | 30 min | $92,850 |
| Franklin | under 2% | B | B− | 27 min | $105,000 |
| Baltic | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Baltic: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Montville. Darker towns draw more of Norwich’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 Norwich: questions
What is the median household income in Norwich?
$65,024 (±$5,019) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwich?
16.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwich?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwich work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montville (12%, 7 mi), Groton (9%, 14 mi), Ledyard (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwich walkable?
Norwich is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwich without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norwich, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwich
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.