Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Waterbury (9.3%) is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford. For jobs and income Waterbury is better than 21% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (A). Measured by household income, Waterbury is behind 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Waterbury
Job access by car holds Waterbury’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waterbury stays C−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Waterbury
On a workday 33,769 residents head out to work, 10,852 work right here, and 24,435 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 (0.79 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
5% of working residents work in New York City
Where Waterbury clocks in
5% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
What the 35,287 jobs in Waterbury are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waterbury, 2014 → 2024: 38,503 → 35,287. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waterbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waterbury’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waterbury workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 44,534 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where in the region Waterbury works
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Waterbury is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 48,551 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 57% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 18.7% of Waterbury households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Waterbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Waterbury next to U.S. towns of 81,000 to 156,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Stamford CT | 139,535 | $112K | 10.1% | 4.9% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Norwalk CT | 94,508 | $108K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 22% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 226 | Danbury CT | 89,033 | $83K | 11.7% | 6.5% | 29% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Springfield MA | 154,702 | $53K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 37% | C− |
| 349 | Jonesboro AR | 83,296 | $55K | 22.8% | 6.3% | 63% | C− |
| 350 | Waterbury CT | 115,771 | $52K | 24.7% | 9.3% | 24% | C− |
| 351 | Peoria City Township IL | 95,876 | $52K | 23.4% | 8.3% | 46% | C− |
| 352 | Hartford CT | 121,981 | $46K | 26.3% | 10.7% | 27% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | 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 Waterbury, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
11% of Waterbury works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Watertown (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waterbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterbury | – | C− | A | 28 min | $51,886 |
| Watertown | 4% | A | B+ | 24 min | $101,691 |
| Middlebury | under 2% | A | A− | 25 min | $133,487 |
| Wolcott | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $110,850 |
| Cheshire | 4% | A | A− | 29 min | $146,528 |
| Prospect | under 2% | A | C | 28 min | $126,394 |
| Oakville | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Naugatuck | 3% | A− | A− | 33 min | $96,324 |
| Plymouth | under 2% | A− | C | 29 min | $94,514 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oakville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waterbury’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 2024, 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 Waterbury: questions
What is the median household income in Waterbury?
$51,886 (±$2,278) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waterbury?
24.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waterbury?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waterbury work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (5%, 78 mi), Cheshire (4%, 8 mi), Watertown (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Waterbury walkable?
Waterbury is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waterbury without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 57% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waterbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waterbury
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.