Photo: JJBers · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Putnam
About one in five work in Putnam; the top destination outside it is Killingly (9%, 6 miles). For jobs and income Putnam is better than 42% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (B). A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Putnam, in brief
Income, poverty and work: Putnam’s grade explained
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Putnam’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Putnam could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Putnam on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,328 residents head out to work, 936 work right here, and 4,195 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 (1.20 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.
The places Putnam commutes to
Where Putnam clocks in
9% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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 5,131 jobs based in Putnam
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Putnam, 2013 → 2023: 5,790 → 5,131. 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 Putnam’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Putnam
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Putnam workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,246 commuters (the 9% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Putnam
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 Putnam: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,665 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). 9.2% of Putnam households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Putnam’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Putnam ranks: 1,854th of 2,806 U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,700
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Granby CT | 11,963 | $120K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 241 | Prospect CT | 9,638 | $126K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 301 | Durham CT | 7,209 | $159K | 3.4% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,852 | Island Creek Township OH | 9,958 | $68K | 7.0% | 5.0% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,853 | Bellmead TX | 10,592 | $52K | 24.9% | 2.1% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,854 | Putnam CT | 9,402 | $71K | 11.5% | 4.4% | 22% | C+ |
| 1,855 | Great Barrington MA | 7,239 | $84K | 9.2% | 5.0% | 32% | C+ |
| 1,856 | Columbia PA | 10,314 | $54K | 21.4% | 3.2% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,806 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Putnam, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work next door: 16% of Putnam’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Putnam workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam | – | C+ | B | 25 min | $70,561 |
| Pomfret | 2% | B | B− | 24 min | $108,476 |
| Killingly | 9% | C | C | 28 min | $84,350 |
| Thompson | 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $93,629 |
| Woodstock | 3% | B+ | C− | 31 min | $112,011 |
| South Woodstock | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. South Woodstock: 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 Killingly. Darker towns draw more of Putnam’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 Putnam: questions
What is the median household income in Putnam?
$70,561 (±$6,774) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Putnam?
11.5%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Putnam?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Putnam work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Killingly (9%, 6 mi), Woodstock (3%, 9 mi), Webster (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Putnam walkable?
Putnam is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Putnam without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Putnam, from the people who make the trip.
More of Putnam
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.