Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Berkley top those of 94% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Berkley is better than 89% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (D). 2.1% of residents are in poverty; Massachusetts has 10.0%. Only 5% work in Berkley itself; outside it, Boston draws the most (10%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Berkley at work: what stands out
Berkley’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Berkley is Boston, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (364) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Berkley is a place people come home to
There are 759 jobs based in Berkley, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Berkley has about 4,200 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Berkley
The poverty rate holds Berkley’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berkley could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Half of Berkley commutes less than 17 miles
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.
Berkley quiets down on a workday
On a workday 3,330 residents head out to work, 186 work right here, and 573 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,200 people are in Berkley on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.22 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.
Out of Berkley to work: where people go
Where Berkley clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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 759 jobs based in Berkley
759 jobs are based in Berkley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berkley, 2013 → 2023: 604 → 759. 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 Berkley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Berkley, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berkley workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,311 commuters (the 13% 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 commute in Berkley is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,811 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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 Berkley households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Berkley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,167 U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400, Berkley comes 450th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 84 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 448 | Rincon Valley AZ | 6,512 | $132K | 4.1% | 1.5% | 2% | A |
| 449 | Battlefield MO | 6,361 | $95K | 4.3% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| 450 | Berkley MA | 6,950 | $144K | 2.1% | 5.0% | 5% | A |
| 451 | O'Hara Township PA | 8,909 | $117K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 7% | A |
| 452 | Clay Township PA | 7,081 | $84K | 5.4% | 0.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | 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 Berkley, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work next door: 11% of Berkley’s workers
The biggest share goes to Taunton (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Berkley’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 Berkley: questions
What is the median household income in Berkley?
$144,205 (±$48,924) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berkley?
2.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berkley?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berkley work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (10%, 34 mi), Taunton (9%, 5 mi), Fall River (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berkley walkable?
Berkley is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berkley without a car?
0% 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 Berkley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berkley
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.