Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Washington has higher household incomes than 78% of U.S. towns
Washington grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 9.0% of residents, next to 10.0% across Connecticut. About one in four work in Washington itself; outside it, New Milford draws the most (8%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Washington and work: the main findings
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Washington
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #120 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income holds Washington’s grade up ($101,549, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from C to A.
A workday in Washington: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,012 residents head out to work, 322 work right here, and 1,260 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 (1.19 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.
Where people from Washington work
Where Washington clocks in
8% of workers
5% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Washington
1,582 jobs are based in Washington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 1,321 → 1,582. 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 Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes to work from Washington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,522 commuters (the 20% 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.
Washington’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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Washington
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #57 of 155 in Connecticut. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 16.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across Connecticut, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,905 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). 3.4% of Washington households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,682nd of 4,318: where Washington ranks among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Andover CT | 3,173 | $135K | 1.8% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 232 | Bolton CT | 4,875 | $126K | 7.2% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 578 | Salem CT | 4,324 | $123K | 6.2% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,680 | Pleasant Valley WV | 3,457 | $68K | 9.0% | 2.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,681 | Bloomer WI | 3,634 | $58K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | B |
| 1,682 | Washington CT | 3,733 | $102K | 9.0% | 4.4% | 24% | B |
| 1,683 | Camargo Township IL | 3,507 | $77K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 12% | B |
| 1,684 | Hidden Meadows CA | 3,524 | $123K | 8.0% | 15.8% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
10% of Washington works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | B | A− | 26 min | $101,549 |
| New Milford | 8% | B | B− | 30 min | $106,411 |
| Bethlehem | under 2% | A− | B | 29 min | $108,929 |
| Roxbury | under 2% | A− | B+ | 37 min | $123,864 |
| Warren | under 2% | B+ | B | 31 min | $134,583 |
| Morris | under 2% | B | C | 29 min | $109,191 |
| Kent | under 2% | B | A− | 20 min | $96,064 |
| Litchfield | 2% | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $102,609 |
| Woodbury | under 2% | A− | C− | 35 min | $131,480 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New Milford. Darker towns draw more of Washington’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 Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Washington?
$101,549 (±$16,301) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
9.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Milford (8%, 7 mi), Danbury (5%, 20 mi), New York City (3%, 77 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.