Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Berlin commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Berlin report 667 jobs, against 1,538 working residents. Berlin grades A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Measured by household income, Berlin is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Berlin and work: the main findings
Jobs in Berlin have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Berlin went from 323 in 2013 to 667 in 2023, +107%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Berlin
76% of Berlin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 49% of the jobs based in Berlin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
40% of the jobs based in Berlin are held by workers 29 or younger, against 18% of Berlin’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
A lot of Berlin works from home
29% of Berlin workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Berlin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Berlin gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Berlin is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #124 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Berlin’s grade up ($121,336, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, 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, Berlin could be anywhere from B to A+.
What Berlin’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berlin, 2013 → 2023: 323 → 667. 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 Berlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 34 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berlin workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,334 commuters (the 29% 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 Berlin, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,459 residents head out to work, 79 work right here, and 588 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Berlin on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
7% of working residents work in Worcester
Where Berlin clocks in
7% of workers
7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Berlin
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.
Few in Berlin walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berlin is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #221 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,882 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 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 2.0% of Berlin households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Berlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
643rd of 4,535: where Berlin ranks among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Princeton MA | 3,618 | $159K | 4.2% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Millville MA | 3,186 | $127K | 4.6% | 3.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 286 | Sherborn MA | 4,455 | $250K | 3.1% | 4.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 641 | Brown Township OH | 3,810 | $134K | 1.2% | 7.2% | 2% | A− |
| 642 | Middlefield CT | 4,276 | $100K | 8.1% | 2.9% | 8% | A− |
| 643 | Berlin MA | 3,486 | $121K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 5% | A− |
| 644 | Pohatcong Township NJ | 3,578 | $104K | 6.0% | 2.9% | 3% | A− |
| 645 | Lake View AL | 3,969 | $101K | 4.2% | 3.2% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Berlin, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
14% of Berlin works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Marlborough (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berlin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | – | A− | B− | 34 min | $121,336 |
| Clinton | under 3% | B | B | 30 min | $89,781 |
| Hudson | 5% | A− | A− | 31 min | $103,400 |
| Marlborough | 7% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $91,968 |
| Bolton | under 3% | A | C | 37 min | $205,449 |
| Northborough | 2% | A | B | 31 min | $153,199 |
| Boylston | under 3% | A | C | 27 min | $140,962 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Berlin’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 Berlin: questions
What is the median household income in Berlin?
$121,336 (±$12,039) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berlin?
5.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berlin?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berlin work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (7%, 12 mi), Marlborough (7%, 5 mi), Boston (7%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berlin walkable?
Berlin is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berlin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berlin
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.