Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Charlemont earn less than those in 84% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Charlemont is better than 7% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). Below the poverty line: 14.3% of residents, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The average commute takes 37 minutes each way, next to 29 for Massachusetts and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Charlemont: the gist
Many jobs in Charlemont pay little
40% of the jobs based in Charlemont pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Charlemont workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Charlemont
57% of Charlemont residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Charlemont pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. 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; with 515 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Charlemont earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Charlemont’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (7.5%) is left out: Charlemont’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Charlemont could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Inside Charlemont’s 394 jobs
394 jobs are based in Charlemont.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Charlemont, 2013 → 2023: 297 → 394. 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 Charlemont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Charlemont: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Charlemont workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 410 commuters (the 16% 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 Charlemont, and who commutes in
On a workday 470 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 349 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Charlemont on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Greenfield
Where Charlemont clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Charlemont’s commute, mile by mile
About 25% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 Charlemont walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 11.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 491 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 3.3% of Charlemont households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Charlemont’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,737th of 4,312: where Charlemont ranks among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 541 | Blandford MA | 1,212 | $92K | 5.5% | 0.3% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 671 | New Marlborough MA | 1,500 | $117K | 2.5% | 3.5% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 710 | Monterey MA | 1,093 | $152K | 4.1% | 9.4% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,735 | Princeville NC | 1,286 | $46K | 36.2% | 8.7% | 1% | D |
| 3,736 | Clay City Township IL | 1,093 | $63K | 24.7% | 5.4% | 6% | D |
| 3,737 | Charlemont MA | 1,163 | $53K | 14.3% | 7.5% | 9% | D |
| 3,738 | Port Austin Township MI | 1,347 | $54K | 14.3% | 1.3% | 12% | D |
| 3,739 | Columbia Township OH | 1,189 | $59K | 22.4% | 0.0% | <1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Charlemont, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Charlemont and its neighbors: 12% work next door
The biggest share goes to Colrain (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Charlemont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlemont | – | D | B | 37 min | $53,063 |
| Buckland | under 3% | C+ | A− | 31 min | $82,877 |
| Rowe | 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Heath | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Shelburne | 4% | C+ | A− | 29 min | $83,000 |
| Florida | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Hawley | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Colrain | 5% | C+ | D | 34 min | $80,673 |
| Shelburne Falls | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rowe, Heath, Florida and Hawley: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Shelburne Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Charlemont’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 Charlemont: questions
What is the median household income in Charlemont?
$53,063 (±$12,312) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Charlemont?
14.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Charlemont?
37 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Charlemont work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenfield (12%, 13 mi), Colrain (5%, 8 mi), Shelburne (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Charlemont walkable?
Charlemont is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Charlemont without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Charlemont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Charlemont
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.