Photo: Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Brookline top those of 94% of U.S. towns
8.7% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Brookline are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. At home: 30% of workers have no commute at all (Massachusetts 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Brookline apart on work
Much of Brookline works one town over
52% of working residents work in a town that borders Brookline: Boston (49%) and Newton (3%). Next door ↓
Most Brookline residents work close to home
81% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Brookline works from home
30% of Brookline workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Four in five Brookline workers earn over $40,000 a year
80% of Brookline’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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 Brookline gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brookline is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #90 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. 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, Brookline could be anywhere from A− to A.
How far Brookline’s workers travel
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 27 minutes each way, quicker than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookline workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 25,563 commuters (the 30% 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.
Brookline is a services town
18,026 jobs are based in Brookline.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookline, 2013 → 2023: 18,210 → 18,026. 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 Brookline’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Brookline quiets down on a workday
On a workday 26,139 residents head out to work, 1,896 work right here, and 16,130 people come in from elsewhere.
About 53,000 people are in Brookline on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
49% of working residents work in Boston
Where Brookline clocks in
49% of workers
11% of workers
3% 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.
Brookline is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brookline is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Brookline 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 36,587 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 71% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 33.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 26.9% of Brookline households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 26% of Brookline’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brookline next to U.S. towns of 44,000 to 86,000: 121st of 719 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Somerville MA | 84,211 | $133K | 9.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Cerritos CA | 46,367 | $135K | 5.3% | 5.1% | 8% | A |
| 120 | Wentzville MO | 49,495 | $112K | 5.4% | 2.7% | 13% | A |
| 121 | Brookline MA | 63,414 | $142K | 8.7% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| 122 | West Hartford CT | 64,242 | $130K | 6.3% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| 123 | Webster NY | 45,309 | $94K | 5.1% | 2.7% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | Medford MA | 59,834 | $130K | 7.6% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 719 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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 Brookline, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Brookline and its neighbors: 52% work next door
The biggest share goes to Boston (49%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Brookline’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 Brookline: questions
What is the median household income in Brookline?
$142,101 (±$8,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookline?
8.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookline?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookline work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (49%, 7 mi), Cambridge (11%, 4 mi), Newton (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookline walkable?
Brookline is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.4 out of 20, and 53% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookline without a car?
26% of commuters take transit and 27% of households have no car. 71% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brookline, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookline
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.