Photo: Jsayre64 · Public domainHousehold incomes in Deerfield top those of 81% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 7.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Jobs and income earn Deerfield A−; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Deerfield: the figures worth knowing
Deerfield trades workers with the towns around it
Deerfield has about as many jobs (2,930) as working residents (2,494), but they are mostly different people: 2,096 residents leave for work each day while 2,532 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Deerfield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Deerfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Deerfield than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Deerfield fell from 3,935 in 2013 to 2,930 in 2023, −26%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Jobs & income in Deerfield: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Deerfield is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #168 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($106,136, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Deerfield could be anywhere from B− to A.
The daily commute in and out of Deerfield
On a workday 2,096 residents head out to work, 398 work right here, and 2,532 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 (1.17 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.
Commuting from Deerfield: about 18 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Deerfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,577 commuters (the 17% 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.
Inside Deerfield’s 2,930 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Deerfield, 2013 → 2023: 3,935 → 2,930. 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 Deerfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
10% of working residents work in Northampton
Where Deerfield clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
Miles to work from Deerfield
About 19% 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.
Deerfield is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Deerfield is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #87 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 11.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 8.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,123 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% 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 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 3.1% of Deerfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Deerfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900, Deerfield comes 939th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 937 | Rosewood Heights IL | 4,229 | $72K | 6.8% | 2.6% | 1% | A− |
| 938 | DeWitt IA | 5,704 | $93K | 2.8% | 4.1% | 24% | A− |
| 939 | Deerfield MA | 5,147 | $106K | 7.8% | 2.8% | 16% | A− |
| 940 | New Boston NH | 6,276 | $154K | 6.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A− |
| 941 | Alsace Township PA | 3,937 | $71K | 6.6% | 2.3% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Deerfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Deerfield and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to Greenfield (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Deerfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield | – | A− | A | 18 min | $106,136 |
| Greenfield | 8% | C− | A | 17 min | $55,614 |
| Montague | under 2% | C | A− | 21 min | $70,510 |
| Conway | under 2% | B+ | B− | 24 min | $97,250 |
| Sunderland | 2% | B− | A | 17 min | $68,083 |
| Whately | 3% | A− | D | 23 min | $116,563 |
| Shelburne | under 2% | C+ | A− | 29 min | $83,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Deerfield’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 Deerfield: questions
What is the median household income in Deerfield?
$106,136 (±$13,769) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Deerfield?
7.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Deerfield?
18 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Deerfield work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Northampton (10%, 14 mi), Greenfield (8%, 7 mi), Amherst Town (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Deerfield walkable?
Deerfield is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Deerfield 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 Deerfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Deerfield
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.