Photo: Делян Ковачев · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Shelton top those of 82% of U.S. towns
Shelton grades A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 6.6% of residents are in poverty; Connecticut has 10.0%. About one in seven stay in Shelton for work; outside it, Bridgeport is the main destination (9%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Shelton’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shelton is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #83 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Shelton’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, 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, Shelton could be anywhere from B+ to A.
In and out of Shelton on a workday
On a workday 17,130 residents head out to work, 2,941 work right here, and 21,599 people come in from elsewhere.
About 47,000 people are in Shelton on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 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 towns that employ Shelton’s residents
Where Shelton clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
67% of the jobs in Shelton pay over $3,333 a month
24,540 jobs are based in Shelton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shelton, 2013 → 2023: 22,294 → 24,540. 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 Shelton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes to work from Shelton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shelton workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,176 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.
Shelton’s commute, mile by mile
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 Shelton: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shelton is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #94 of 155 in Connecticut. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 21,106 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 23% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 5.7% of Shelton households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Shelton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Shelton is 355th of 1,011 U.S. towns of 30,000 to 58,000 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Glastonbury CT | 35,503 | $157K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Southington CT | 44,242 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.4% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 161 | Cheshire CT | 30,983 | $147K | 5.0% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Crystal Lake IL | 42,288 | $108K | 6.8% | 4.2% | 14% | A− |
| 354 | Ohio Township IN | 43,316 | $93K | 6.5% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 355 | Shelton CT | 42,880 | $108K | 6.6% | 4.9% | 15% | A− |
| 356 | North Olmsted OH | 31,542 | $84K | 8.3% | 3.0% | 8% | A− |
| 357 | Anna TX | 35,245 | $106K | 7.8% | 4.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,011 | 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 Shelton, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work next door: 15% of Shelton’s workers
The biggest share goes to Stratford (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shelton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelton | – | A− | B− | 30 min | $108,185 |
| Stratford | 7% | B+ | A | 30 min | $95,815 |
| Oronoque | under 4% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Trumbull | 4% | A− | A− | 33 min | $163,073 |
| Monroe | under 4% | A | B+ | 34 min | $157,250 |
| Daniels Farm | under 4% | — | — | 43 min | — |
| Derby | under 4% | B | B+ | 27 min | $79,500 |
| East Village | under 4% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Orange | under 4% | A+ | B | 28 min | $142,325 |
| Seymour | under 4% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $107,708 |
| Milford | 4% | A | A− | 25 min | $110,669 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oronoque, Daniels Farm and East Village: 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 Shelton’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 Shelton: questions
What is the median household income in Shelton?
$108,185 (±$10,854) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shelton?
6.6%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shelton?
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 Shelton work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bridgeport (9%, 9 mi), Stratford (7%, 7 mi), New York City (6%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shelton walkable?
Shelton is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shelton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shelton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shelton
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.