Photo: Nwalsh (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0Belchertown has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
2,818 jobs are based in Belchertown; 7,106 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Belchertown is better than 79% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Belchertown’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($108,068, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belchertown could be anywhere from B to A.
In and out of Belchertown on a workday
On a workday 6,305 residents head out to work, 801 work right here, and 2,017 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Belchertown on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
13% of working residents work in Springfield
Where Belchertown clocks in
13% of workers
10% 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 Belchertown’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belchertown, 2013 → 2023: 2,552 → 2,818. 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 Belchertown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes each way, about the MA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belchertown workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,068 commuters (the 14% 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 many miles Belchertown commutes
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 Belchertown gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,219 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% 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 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 5.9% of Belchertown households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Belchertown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Belchertown next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000: 715th of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 713 | Carrboro NC | 20,962 | $86K | 12.2% | 3.6% | 7% | A− |
| 714 | New Fairfield CT | 13,674 | $138K | 3.6% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 715 | Belchertown MA | 15,265 | $108K | 8.5% | 2.4% | 11% | A− |
| 716 | Elgin TX | 13,327 | $91K | 5.3% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| 717 | Riverview MI | 11,947 | $73K | 7.3% | 2.3% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Belchertown, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 13% of Belchertown
The biggest share goes to Amherst Town (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belchertown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belchertown | – | A− | B− | 29 min | $108,068 |
| New Salem | under 3% | C+ | C+ | 23 min | $79,688 |
| Ware | under 3% | C | B+ | 28 min | $67,475 |
| Palmer Town | under 3% | B+ | C+ | 31 min | $78,480 |
| Pelham | under 3% | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $113,750 |
| Ludlow | 3% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $84,838 |
| Granby | under 3% | A | C+ | 23 min | $119,297 |
| Amherst Town | 10% | B+ | A+ | 18 min | $66,968 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Belchertown’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 Belchertown: questions
What is the median household income in Belchertown?
$108,068 (±$15,245) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belchertown?
8.5%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belchertown?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belchertown work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (13%, 13 mi), Amherst Town (10%, 8 mi), Northampton (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belchertown walkable?
Belchertown is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belchertown without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belchertown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belchertown
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.