Blackstone Viaduct · Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Blackstone commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Jobs and income earn Blackstone A−; getting around on foot earns it C. Blackstone has 1,242 jobs, and 5,088 of its residents work somewhere. Only 6% work in Blackstone; the top destination outside it is Boston (11%, 33 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Blackstone, in a few figures
Many of the people who work in Blackstone live in another state
Woonsocket, RI (11%), North Smithfield, RI (3%) and Burrillville, RI (3%) are among the top places Blackstone’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 19% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Blackstone’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Blackstone is Boston, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (535) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Blackstone is a place people come home to
There are 1,242 jobs based in Blackstone, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Blackstone has about 5,600 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Blackstone 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.
Jobs & income in Blackstone: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blackstone is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #122 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blackstone could be anywhere from B to A+.
The towns that employ Blackstone’s residents
Where Blackstone clocks in
11% 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.
Blackstone’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The daily commute in and out of Blackstone
On a workday 4,802 residents head out to work, 286 work right here, and 956 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Blackstone on a workday afternoon, 41% 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.
About 34 minutes to work from Blackstone
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blackstone workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,005 commuters (the 17% 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.
What Blackstone’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blackstone, 2013 → 2023: 1,077 → 1,242. 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 Blackstone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Blackstone is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blackstone is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #249 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Blackstone near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,847 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 11% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% 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). 4.0% of Blackstone households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Blackstone’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,700, Blackstone ranks 639th of 2,806 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 28 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 637 | Lighthouse Point FL | 10,756 | $92K | 6.8% | 3.3% | 6% | A− |
| 638 | Hermantown MN | 10,110 | $91K | 5.4% | 2.1% | 13% | A− |
| 639 | Blackstone MA | 9,416 | $94K | 8.0% | 2.6% | 6% | A− |
| 640 | East Haddam CT | 9,043 | $108K | 4.4% | 3.6% | 13% | A− |
| 641 | Uniontown OH | 7,920 | $93K | 7.8% | 2.3% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,806 | 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 Blackstone, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Around Blackstone: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Bellingham (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blackstone workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone | – | A− | C | 34 min | $94,191 |
| Bellingham | 4% | A− | B | 36 min | $125,307 |
| Millville | under 2% | A | C− | 32 min | $127,188 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blackstone’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 Blackstone: questions
What is the median household income in Blackstone?
$94,191 (±$21,141) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blackstone?
8.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blackstone?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blackstone work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (11%, 33 mi), Milford (6%, 8 mi), Franklin Town (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blackstone walkable?
Blackstone is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blackstone without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blackstone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blackstone
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.