Photo: Richard B. Johnson · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Athol (7.0%) is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.4 in Worcester. For jobs and income Athol is better than 19% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (A). Home is the office for 11% of workers, against 19% across Massachusetts.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Athol’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Household income holds Athol’s grade up ($69,316, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Athol could be anywhere from D to C+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Athol
On a workday 4,389 residents head out to work, 1,038 work right here, and 2,312 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Athol on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
7% of working residents work in Gardner
Where Athol clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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 the 3,350 jobs in Athol are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Athol, 2013 → 2023: 3,334 → 3,350. 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 Athol’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Athol
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Athol workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,947 commuters (the 11% 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.
How far it is to work from Athol
About 17% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Athol is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,534 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 11.9% of Athol households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Athol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Athol next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000: 2,350th of 2,695 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,348 | Winton CA | 11,797 | $57K | 14.0% | 12.1% | 4% | C− |
| 2,349 | Mount Vernon IL | 14,187 | $55K | 17.3% | 6.3% | 47% | C− |
| 2,350 | Athol MA | 12,129 | $69K | 16.3% | 7.0% | 19% | C− |
| 2,351 | Cottonwood AZ | 12,709 | $48K | 18.6% | 3.1% | 22% | C− |
| 2,352 | Coffeyville KS | 8,460 | $46K | 21.1% | 3.2% | 46% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Athol, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Athol and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Orange (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Athol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athol | – | C− | A | 27 min | $69,316 |
| Orange | 6% | D | B+ | 33 min | $55,824 |
| Phillipston | under 2% | B− | B− | 29 min | $94,692 |
| Royalston | under 2% | B− | D− | 38 min | $102,109 |
| Petersham | under 2% | B | D | 39 min | $110,750 |
| New Salem | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 23 min | $79,688 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Athol’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 Athol: questions
What is the median household income in Athol?
$69,316 (±$4,650) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Athol?
16.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Athol?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Athol work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gardner (7%, 12 mi), Orange (6%, 4 mi), Worcester (5%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Athol walkable?
Athol is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Athol without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Athol, from the people who make the trip.
More of Athol
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.