Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0Westbrook has lower unemployment (2.4%) than 79% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Westbrook A−; getting around on foot earns it A. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 31.8 in Stamford. About one in seven work in Westbrook itself; outside it, Old Saybrook draws the most (8%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Westbrook and work: the main findings
Westbrook trades workers with the towns around it
Westbrook has about as many jobs (3,024) as working residents (2,957), but they are mostly different people: 2,593 residents leave for work each day while 2,660 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Westbrook are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Westbrook’s commute
The biggest draw, Old Saybrook, gets only 8% of working residents, and 50% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Westbrook residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Westbrook are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across Connecticut. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Connecticut worker, and quicker than any town next door (24 to 35 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Westbrook makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Westbrook are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Westbrook residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Westbrook’s workforce skews older
37% of Westbrook’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Westbrook’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westbrook is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #80 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Westbrook’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westbrook could be anywhere from B− to A.
Westbrook by day and by night
On a workday 2,593 residents head out to work, 364 work right here, and 2,660 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 (1.02 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 Westbrook work
Where Westbrook clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
Time on the road from Westbrook: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westbrook workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,030 commuters (the 19% 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.
A place that makes things: 36% of Westbrook’s jobs are in goods
3,024 jobs are based in Westbrook.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westbrook, 2013 → 2023: 3,485 → 3,024. 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 Westbrook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Westbrook
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: Westbrook
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westbrook is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #14 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Westbrook near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,743 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 53% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 53% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 6.4% of Westbrook households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Westbrook’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Westbrook ranks: 806th of 3,229 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bethany CT | 5,339 | $166K | 2.3% | 1.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | East Granby CT | 5,432 | $121K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 229 | Bolton CT | 4,875 | $126K | 7.2% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 804 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| 805 | Montebello NY | 4,828 | $134K | 11.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A− |
| 806 | Westbrook CT | 6,918 | $91K | 7.0% | 2.4% | 12% | A− |
| 807 | Mount Hope NY | 6,487 | $91K | 5.1% | 1.7% | 3% | A− |
| 808 | Mayflower Village CA | 4,950 | $105K | 8.4% | 4.6% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | 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 Westbrook, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
The towns next door employ 16% of Westbrook
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westbrook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westbrook | – | A− | A | 21 min | $91,202 |
| Old Saybrook | 8% | A | B+ | 29 min | $114,333 |
| Essex | 4% | A | A | 27 min | $104,395 |
| Clinton | 4% | A− | A− | 29 min | $124,824 |
| Deep River | under 3% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $90,253 |
| Saybrook Manor | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Killingworth | under 3% | A | C− | 24 min | $140,655 |
Same-state neighbors only. Saybrook Manor: 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 Old Saybrook. Darker towns draw more of Westbrook’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 Westbrook: questions
What is the median household income in Westbrook?
$91,202 (±$22,831) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westbrook?
7.0%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westbrook?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westbrook work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Old Saybrook (8%, 5 mi), New Haven (6%, 23 mi), Essex (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westbrook walkable?
Westbrook is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westbrook without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 53% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westbrook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westbrook
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.