Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Bellingham has higher household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 5.7%, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. Bellingham grades A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten work in Bellingham; the top destination outside it is Boston (12%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Bellingham stands out on work
Many of the people who work in Bellingham live in another state
Woonsocket, RI (8%), Pawtucket, RI (2%) and Providence, RI (2%) are among the top places Bellingham’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 14% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
48% of the jobs in Bellingham are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Bellingham’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Bellingham is Boston, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,113) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Bellingham workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Bellingham draws workers from far and wide
The 6,333 jobs in Bellingham are filled from a wide area. Bellingham’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Why Bellingham gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bellingham is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #175 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Bellingham’s grade up ($125,307, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bellingham could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Out of Bellingham to work: where people go
Where Bellingham clocks in
12% 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.
The 6,333 jobs based in Bellingham
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bellingham, 2013 → 2023: 5,242 → 6,333. 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 Bellingham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Bellingham 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.
About 36 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bellingham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,364 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.
Who commutes out of Bellingham, and who commutes in
On a workday 8,429 residents head out to work, 792 work right here, and 5,541 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Bellingham on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
For most of Bellingham, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bellingham is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #182 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 14.1% across Massachusetts.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,011 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 63% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 1.5% of Bellingham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Bellingham’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Bellingham is 703rd of 1,822 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Sharon MA | 18,798 | $192K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 701 | River Ridge LA | 13,312 | $84K | 9.7% | 3.3% | 4% | A− |
| 702 | Lincolnwood IL | 13,039 | $110K | 6.3% | 7.8% | 6% | A− |
| 703 | Bellingham MA | 18,032 | $125K | 5.7% | 7.4% | 9% | A− |
| 704 | Antrim Township PA | 16,481 | $94K | 4.0% | 2.5% | 11% | A− |
| 705 | Greene Township PA | 18,721 | $88K | 6.2% | 2.2% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | 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 Bellingham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Bellingham and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to Franklin Town (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bellingham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | – | A− | B | 36 min | $125,307 |
| Mendon | under 2% | A− | C− | 30 min | $132,256 |
| Hopedale | under 2% | A+ | B | 31 min | $115,722 |
| Blackstone | under 2% | A− | C | 34 min | $94,191 |
| Franklin Town | 6% | A− | A− | 33 min | $145,773 |
| Medway | 2% | A | B | 30 min | $173,750 |
| Milford | 5% | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $96,365 |
| Wrentham | under 2% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $151,676 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bellingham’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 Bellingham: questions
What is the median household income in Bellingham?
$125,307 (±$10,415) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bellingham?
5.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bellingham?
36 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bellingham work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (12%, 30 mi), Franklin Town (6%, 3 mi), Milford (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bellingham walkable?
Bellingham is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bellingham without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bellingham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bellingham
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.