Photo: Beyond My Ken3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Chilmark earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Chilmark B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. 4.1% of residents are in poverty (Massachusetts 10.0%). For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Chilmark apart
Chilmark and West Tisbury trade workers both ways
West Tisbury is the top workplace for Chilmark residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Chilmark come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Chilmark averages 32 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (10 to 20 minutes). Next door ↓
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 425 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Chilmark: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Chilmark is better than 68% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Chilmark’s grade up ($168,750, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (9.8%) is left out: Chilmark’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, Chilmark could be anywhere from B− to A−.
19% of working residents work in West Tisbury
Where Chilmark clocks in
19% of workers
13% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Chilmark
On a workday 384 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 314 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 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.
66% of the jobs in Chilmark pay over $3,333 a month
355 jobs are based in Chilmark.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chilmark, 2013 → 2023: 214 → 355. 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 Chilmark’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Chilmark: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chilmark workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 523 commuters (the 26% 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 Chilmark
About 28% 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.
Chilmark is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chilmark is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Chilmark 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 704 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 0.9% of Chilmark households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Chilmark’s commuters take a bus or train.
892nd of 4,866: where Chilmark ranks among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 383 | Whately MA | 1,622 | $117K | 5.4% | 4.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 464 | Otis MA | 1,610 | $109K | 1.2% | 6.2% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 515 | Westhampton MA | 1,618 | $100K | 6.5% | 7.7% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 890 | Story WY | 1,054 | $114K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 891 | Hanna City IL | 1,238 | $73K | 5.4% | 2.8% | 2% | B+ |
| 892 | Chilmark MA | 1,253 | $169K | 4.1% | 9.8% | 10% | B+ |
| 893 | Solon Township MI | 1,608 | $97K | 3.9% | 2.1% | 5% | B+ |
| 894 | Independence Township PA | 1,483 | $90K | 3.3% | 9.9% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | 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 Chilmark, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
21% of Chilmark works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to West Tisbury (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chilmark workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilmark | – | B+ | A+ | 32 min | $168,750 |
| West Tisbury | 19% | B | B− | 17 min | $182,750 |
| Aquinnah | 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Gosnold | under 1% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Aquinnah and Gosnold: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chilmark’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 Chilmark: questions
What is the median household income in Chilmark?
$168,750 (±$28,391) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chilmark?
4.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chilmark?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chilmark work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Tisbury (19%, 9 mi), Oak Bluffs (13%, 16 mi), Tisbury (12%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chilmark walkable?
Chilmark is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chilmark without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chilmark, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chilmark
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.