Old Douglas Center Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Douglas have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Douglas itself; outside it, Worcester draws the most (13%, 15 miles). Below the poverty line: 4.8% of residents, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. Douglas grades A for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Douglas, in brief
Douglas is a place people come home to
There are 1,003 jobs based in Douglas, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Douglas has about 6,000 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Douglas workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 Douglas: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Douglas is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #102 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Douglas’ grade up ($152,267, 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, Douglas could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How a workday changes Douglas
On a workday 4,297 residents head out to work, 288 work right here, and 715 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,000 people are in Douglas on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.22 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Douglas: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Douglas workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,990 commuters (the 21% 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.
The places Douglas commutes to
Where Douglas clocks in
13% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
What the 1,003 jobs in Douglas are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Douglas, 2013 → 2023: 960 → 1,003. 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 Douglas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Douglas
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.
In Douglas, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Douglas is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #254 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.9% 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 5,047 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.6% of Douglas households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Douglas’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Douglas ranks: 553rd of 2,790 U.S. towns of 6,700 to 12,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 26 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 551 | Little Chute WI | 11,800 | $88K | 5.7% | 2.4% | 9% | A |
| 552 | Smithfield VA | 9,112 | $113K | 5.4% | 2.5% | 12% | A |
| 553 | Douglas MA | 9,545 | $152K | 4.8% | 4.3% | 6% | A |
| 554 | Bruce Township MI | 10,175 | $118K | 4.7% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| 555 | York Township MI | 9,130 | $137K | 5.1% | 4.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,790 | 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 Douglas, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
How Douglas compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Uxbridge (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Douglas’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 Douglas: questions
What is the median household income in Douglas?
$152,267 (±$10,298) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Douglas?
4.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Douglas?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Douglas work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (13%, 15 mi), Northbridge (5%, 7 mi), Boston (5%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Douglas walkable?
Douglas is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Douglas without a car?
2% 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 Douglas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Douglas
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.