Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Dartmouth earn more than those in 77% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 6.3% of residents; Massachusetts has 10.0%. The two grades for Dartmouth are A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 5.3 in New Bedford.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Dartmouth
Dartmouth trades workers with the towns around it
Dartmouth has about as many jobs (16,272) as working residents (14,302), but they are mostly different people: 11,901 residents leave for work each day while 13,871 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Dartmouth are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Dartmouth and New Bedford trade workers both ways
New Bedford is the top workplace for Dartmouth residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Dartmouth come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
The four measures behind Dartmouth’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dartmouth is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #174 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Dartmouth’s grade up ($99,839, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dartmouth could be anywhere from B to A.
How many people are in Dartmouth by day
On a workday 11,901 residents head out to work, 2,401 work right here, and 13,871 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 (1.14 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.
18% of working residents work in New Bedford
Where Dartmouth clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Dartmouth: what the 16,272 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dartmouth, 2013 → 2023: 15,399 → 16,272. 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 Dartmouth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Dartmouth: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dartmouth workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,382 commuters (the 12% 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.
How many miles Dartmouth commutes
About 16% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Dartmouth
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dartmouth is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #107 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Dartmouth 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 15,275 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 45% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 7.3% of Dartmouth households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Dartmouth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Dartmouth is 522nd among 1,255 U.S. towns of 24,000 to 46,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 35 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 520 | Schertz TX | 45,978 | $100K | 5.2% | 6.2% | 9% | A− |
| 521 | Winter Park FL | 30,444 | $106K | 9.3% | 4.5% | 12% | A− |
| 522 | Dartmouth MA | 34,367 | $100K | 6.3% | 4.3% | 17% | A− |
| 523 | Naugatuck CT | 32,230 | $96K | 6.3% | 5.1% | 9% | A− |
| 524 | Allendale Township MI | 27,519 | $82K | 21.4% | 5.9% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,255 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Dartmouth, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
20% of Dartmouth works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to New Bedford (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dartmouth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $99,839 |
| Westport | 2% | A− | C | 29 min | $96,000 |
| New Bedford | 18% | C− | A | 25 min | $56,981 |
| North Westport | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Gosnold | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North Westport: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Gosnold: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dartmouth’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 Dartmouth: questions
What is the median household income in Dartmouth?
$99,839 (±$8,295) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dartmouth?
6.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dartmouth?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dartmouth work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Bedford (18%, 7 mi), Fall River (9%, 13 mi), Boston (6%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dartmouth walkable?
Dartmouth is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dartmouth without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dartmouth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dartmouth
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.