Photo: Dougtone · CC BY-SA 2.0Winchester has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Winchester grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. 2,320 jobs are based in Winchester, and 4,939 of its residents work somewhere. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.8 in Stamford.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Winchester: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Winchester is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #140 of 155 in Connecticut. Job access by car holds Winchester’s grade up (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Winchester could be anywhere from C− to B+.
In and out of Winchester on a workday
On a workday 4,453 residents head out to work, 486 work right here, and 1,834 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,700 people are in Winchester on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
14% of working residents work in Torrington
Where Winchester clocks in
14% 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.
Making and building: 30% of jobs based in Winchester
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Winchester, 2013 → 2023: 2,644 → 2,320. 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 Winchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Winchester’s commute takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Winchester workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,573 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far Winchester goes to work
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.
Winchester is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Winchester is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #30 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Winchester 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 4,912 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 44% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 9.7% of Winchester households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Winchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Winchester is 1,910th among 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 181 | Oxford CT | 13,311 | $129K | 4.0% | 2.3% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Granby CT | 11,963 | $120K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 245 | Prospect CT | 9,638 | $126K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,908 | Center Township IN | 7,376 | $69K | 9.4% | 4.9% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,909 | Richfield Township MI | 8,941 | $83K | 10.1% | 7.9% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,910 | Winchester CT | 10,360 | $67K | 12.8% | 4.1% | 10% | C+ |
| 1,911 | Clintonia Township IL | 7,123 | $65K | 13.6% | 3.5% | 31% | C+ |
| 1,912 | Hastings NY | 9,438 | $84K | 10.5% | 7.3% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Winchester, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
14% of Winchester works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Winchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester | – | C+ | A | 26 min | $66,519 |
| Torrington | 14% | C+ | A− | 25 min | $70,856 |
| Colebrook | under 2% | B | C+ | 34 min | $111,250 |
| Barkhamsted | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 28 min | $123,544 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Torrington. Darker towns draw more of Winchester’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 Winchester: questions
What is the median household income in Winchester?
$66,519 (±$11,612) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Winchester?
12.8%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Winchester?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Winchester work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Torrington (14%, 6 mi), New Hartford (4%, 8 mi), Hartford (4%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Winchester walkable?
Winchester is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Winchester without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Winchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Winchester
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.