Photo: Ashby1495 · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Ashby commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
The two grades for Ashby are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 337 jobs are based in Ashby; 1,380 of its residents have a job. Measured by household income, Ashby is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ashby apart
Why Ashby gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ashby is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #177 of 283 in Massachusetts. The poverty rate holds Ashby’s grade up (2.6%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ashby could be anywhere from B to A.
A workday in Ashby: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,281 residents head out to work, 99 work right here, and 238 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Ashby on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
9% of working residents work in Fitchburg
Where Ashby clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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 Ashby’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashby, 2013 → 2023: 237 → 337. 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 Ashby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Ashby spends getting to work: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashby workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,453 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Ashby 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.
Driving is how Ashby gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ashby is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #231 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 4.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,767 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). 0.8% of Ashby households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ashby’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Ashby is 1,025th of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Princeton MA | 3,618 | $159K | 4.2% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 254 | Millville MA | 3,186 | $127K | 4.6% | 3.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 312 | Essex MA | 3,770 | $157K | 8.1% | 1.5% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,023 | Palmer TX | 2,644 | $104K | 4.5% | 7.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,024 | Lisbon CT | 4,260 | $93K | 6.6% | 3.2% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,025 | Ashby MA | 3,274 | $116K | 2.6% | 4.5% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,026 | East Bloomfield NY | 3,614 | $90K | 3.5% | 4.5% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,027 | Hegins Township PA | 3,368 | $93K | 5.5% | 1.0% | 14% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Ashby, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 14% of Ashby
The biggest share goes to Fitchburg (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ashby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby | – | B+ | B− | 33 min | $115,598 |
| Ashburnham | under 3% | B+ | C | 32 min | $118,809 |
| Fitchburg | 9% | C | A | 27 min | $73,040 |
| Townsend | 5% | B− | C+ | 37 min | $121,528 |
| Lunenburg | under 3% | A− | B | 36 min | $112,828 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ashby’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 Ashby: questions
What is the median household income in Ashby?
$115,598 (±$9,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashby?
2.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashby?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashby work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fitchburg (9%, 5 mi), Leominster (7%, 11 mi), Boston (5%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ashby walkable?
Ashby is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ashby without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashby
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.