Photo: Bob Linsdell · CC BY 3.0Chatham has higher household incomes than 62% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. 10.8% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Chatham grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Chatham
Chatham’s workforce skews older
42% of Chatham’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Chatham are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Chatham’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chatham is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #245 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Chatham’s grade up ($85,167, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 33% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chatham could be anywhere from C to B+.
The kinds of work in Chatham
3,003 jobs are based in Chatham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chatham, 2013 → 2023: 2,258 → 3,003. 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 Chatham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Chatham: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chatham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,965 commuters (the 25% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Chatham
About 34% 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.
How many people are in Chatham by day
On a workday 1,576 residents head out to work, 560 work right here, and 2,443 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,600 people are in Chatham on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
7% of working residents work in Barnstable Town
Where Chatham 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.
Chatham is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chatham is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #103 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Chatham 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 2,636 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 34% 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 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 3.7% of Chatham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Chatham’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Chatham is 1,895th of 3,253 U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,100
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,893 | Eaton OH | 8,327 | $51K | 14.1% | 1.5% | 33% | B− |
| 1,894 | Munford TN | 6,996 | $90K | 8.8% | 7.9% | 4% | B− |
| 1,895 | Chatham MA | 6,752 | $85K | 10.8% | 3.9% | 26% | B− |
| 1,896 | Pinson AL | 7,830 | $76K | 10.6% | 6.1% | 1% | B− |
| 1,897 | Luverne MN | 4,984 | $64K | 12.2% | 2.5% | 39% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,253 | 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 Chatham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
11% of Chatham works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Harwich (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chatham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | – | B− | A− | 24 min | $85,167 |
| Harwich | 7% | B | B | 25 min | $96,966 |
| Harwich Port | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| East Harwich | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Orleans | 4% | B | B+ | 22 min | $102,335 |
Same-state neighbors only. Harwich Port and East Harwich: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chatham’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 Chatham: questions
What is the median household income in Chatham?
$85,167 (±$8,892) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chatham?
10.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chatham?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chatham work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Barnstable Town (7%, 20 mi), Boston (7%, 73 mi), Harwich (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chatham walkable?
Chatham is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chatham without a car?
3% 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 Chatham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chatham
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.