Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Essex have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston. Poverty touches 8.1% of residents, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. Essex grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What’s behind Essex’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Essex is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #65 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($157,147, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most 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, Essex could be anywhere from A− to A+.
How a workday changes Essex
On a workday 1,504 residents head out to work, 230 work right here, and 1,118 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Essex on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Beverly
Where Essex clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
65% of the jobs in Essex pay over $3,333 a month
1,348 jobs are based in Essex.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Essex, 2014 → 2024: 1,162 → 1,348. 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 Essex’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Essex: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Essex workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,548 commuters (the 24% 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 far it is to work from Essex
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.
In Essex, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Essex is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #81 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Essex 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 2,027 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% 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 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 1.2% of Essex households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Essex’s commuters take a bus or train.
Essex is 340th of 4,430 U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,100 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Avon MA | 4,861 | $131K | 4.6% | 2.5% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Hideaway TX | 3,459 | $110K | 2.7% | 0.8% | 3% | A |
| 339 | Ponder TX | 2,863 | $106K | 1.0% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 340 | Essex MA | 3,770 | $157K | 8.1% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| 341 | Allen Township OH | 2,873 | $139K | 7.5% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| 342 | Bennett CO | 4,224 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,430 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Essex, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 14% of Essex
The biggest share goes to Gloucester (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Essex workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | – | A | A | 25 min | $157,147 |
| Ipswich | 3% | A | A− | 29 min | $138,750 |
| Hamilton | under 3% | A | B+ | 32 min | $129,833 |
| Gloucester | 8% | B− | A+ | 24 min | $83,883 |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | 3% | A− | A | 30 min | $206,389 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Essex’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 Essex: questions
What is the median household income in Essex?
$157,147 (±$24,136) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Essex?
8.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Essex?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Essex work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beverly (10%, 7 mi), Boston (10%, 25 mi), Gloucester (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Essex walkable?
Essex is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Essex without a car?
<1% 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 Essex, from the people who make the trip.
More of Essex
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.