Stevenson Dam Hydroelectric Plant · Photo: Rootology · CC BY-SA 3.0Oxford has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Oxford for work; outside it, New Haven is the main destination (7%, 15 miles). 4.0% of residents are in poverty, where Connecticut as a whole has 10.0%. For jobs and income Oxford is better than 96% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oxford at work: what stands out
The four measures behind Oxford’s grade
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Oxford’s grade. 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, Oxford could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Where Oxford’s working residents head each day
Where Oxford clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
Oxford quiets down on a workday
On a workday 5,566 residents head out to work, 560 work right here, and 3,310 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Oxford on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
29% of the jobs in Oxford make or build things
3,870 jobs are based in Oxford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oxford, 2013 → 2023: 3,064 → 3,870. 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 Oxford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Oxford takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oxford workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,905 commuters (the 14% 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 Oxford goes to work
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.
The commute in Oxford is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,896 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). 1.3% of Oxford households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oxford’s commuters take a bus or train.
172nd of 2,526: where Oxford ranks among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 148 | Tolland CT | 14,752 | $133K | 5.3% | 1.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Colchester CT | 15,825 | $122K | 3.9% | 1.7% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 170 | New Baltimore VA | 11,919 | $189K | 4.1% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 171 | Bondurant IA | 9,647 | $136K | 6.2% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| 172 | Oxford CT | 13,311 | $129K | 4.0% | 2.3% | 9% | A+ |
| 173 | Falmouth ME | 12,982 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.7% | 13% | A+ |
| 174 | Wayland MA | 13,913 | $224K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | 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 Oxford, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work next door: 12% of Oxford’s workers
The biggest share goes to Shelton (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oxford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | – | A+ | C− | 30 min | $128,953 |
| Southbury | 3% | A | C | 30 min | $112,887 |
| Seymour | 3% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $107,708 |
| Beacon Falls | under 3% | A | C | 33 min | $101,516 |
| East Village | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Monroe | under 3% | A | B+ | 34 min | $157,250 |
| Naugatuck | under 3% | A− | A− | 33 min | $96,324 |
| Sandy Hook | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Newtown | under 3% | A | C | 34 min | $155,110 |
| Middlebury | under 3% | A | A− | 25 min | $133,487 |
| Shelton | 6% | A− | B− | 30 min | $108,185 |
Same-state neighbors only. East Village and Sandy Hook: 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 Oxford’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 Oxford: questions
What is the median household income in Oxford?
$128,953 (±$22,972) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oxford?
4.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oxford?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oxford work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Haven (7%, 15 mi), Shelton (6%, 10 mi), Stratford (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oxford walkable?
Oxford is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oxford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oxford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oxford
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.