Photo: en:User:LymanSchool (Richard B. Johnson) · CC BY-SA 3.0East Brookfield has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
466 jobs are based in East Brookfield; 1,218 of its residents have a job. East Brookfield grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.4 in Worcester.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in East Brookfield, in a few figures
East Brookfield has added jobs fast
Jobs based in East Brookfield went from 336 in 2014 to 466 in 2024, +39%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside East Brookfield
73% of East Brookfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 55% of the jobs based in East Brookfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
East Brookfield empties out on a workday
About 1,500 people are in East Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than the 2,200 who live here: 1,200 head out to work and 410 come in. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
East Brookfield’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, East Brookfield is better than 58% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds East Brookfield’s grade up (7.1%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Brookfield could be anywhere from C to A.
What East Brookfield’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Brookfield, 2014 → 2024: 336 → 466. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs East Brookfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
East Brookfield quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,164 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 412 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in East Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
14% of working residents work in Worcester
Where East Brookfield clocks in
14% 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.
Time on the road from East Brookfield: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Brookfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,006 commuters (the 7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from East Brookfield
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 2024.
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: East Brookfield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, East Brookfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place East Brookfield 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 1,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% 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 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 3.9% of East Brookfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of East Brookfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
East Brookfield is 1,748th of 5,102 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 580 | Whately MA | 1,622 | $117K | 5.4% | 4.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 681 | Williamsburg MA | 2,445 | $105K | 2.3% | 3.7% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 708 | Otis MA | 1,610 | $109K | 1.2% | 6.2% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,746 | Carthage TN | 2,282 | $67K | 8.3% | 1.3% | 12% | B |
| 1,747 | Plainview TN | 2,263 | $64K | 10.7% | 2.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,748 | East Brookfield MA | 2,231 | $81K | 7.1% | 5.1% | 4% | B |
| 1,749 | Soo Township MI | 2,983 | $79K | 5.4% | 2.5% | 6% | B |
| 1,750 | Parkersburg IA | 1,969 | $76K | 4.9% | 4.9% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 East Brookfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work next door: 10% of East Brookfield’s workers
The biggest share goes to Sturbridge (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Brookfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Brookfield | – | B | A− | 33 min | $81,042 |
| Brookfield | under 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $81,250 |
| North Brookfield | 3% | B− | C− | 37 min | $79,285 |
| Charlton | 2% | A+ | C− | 33 min | $117,587 |
| Sturbridge | 5% | A | C | 38 min | $136,759 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of East Brookfield’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 2024, 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 East Brookfield: questions
What is the median household income in East Brookfield?
$81,042 (±$16,163) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Brookfield?
7.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Brookfield?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Brookfield work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (14%, 13 mi), Spencer (7%, 4 mi), Boston (7%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is East Brookfield walkable?
East Brookfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Brookfield without a car?
0% 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 East Brookfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Brookfield
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.