Fort Phoenix · Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · CC0Household incomes in Fairhaven are higher than in 74% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 5.3 in New Bedford. The poverty rate is 8.3% (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income Fairhaven is better than 64% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Fairhaven: the figures worth knowing
Fairhaven trades workers with the towns around it
Fairhaven has about as many jobs (7,525) as working residents (7,152), but they are mostly different people: 6,123 residents leave for work each day while 6,496 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Fairhaven are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fairhaven and New Bedford trade workers both ways
New Bedford is the top workplace for Fairhaven residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Fairhaven come from (28% 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Fairhaven
Household income holds Fairhaven’s grade up ($95,965, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairhaven could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Who commutes out of Fairhaven, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,123 residents head out to work, 1,029 work right here, and 6,496 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 (1.05 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.
19% of working residents work in New Bedford
Where Fairhaven clocks in
19% of workers
7% 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.
Inside Fairhaven’s 7,525 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairhaven, 2013 → 2023: 6,827 → 7,525. 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 Fairhaven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes to work from Fairhaven
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairhaven workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,872 commuters (the 11% 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.
Miles to work from Fairhaven
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: Fairhaven
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 14.1% across Massachusetts.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,753 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 8.3% of Fairhaven households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fairhaven’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fairhaven next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000: 1,127th of 2,220 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,125 | Star ID | 20,874 | $98K | 5.8% | 6.9% | 6% | B |
| 1,126 | Cornelius OR | 15,520 | $96K | 9.1% | 5.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,127 | Fairhaven MA | 16,110 | $96K | 8.3% | 5.6% | 14% | B |
| 1,128 | Grand Terrace CA | 12,936 | $84K | 7.5% | 6.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,129 | Alcoa TN | 13,689 | $66K | 12.9% | 2.0% | 15% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Fairhaven, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 22% of Fairhaven
The biggest share goes to New Bedford (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairhaven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhaven | – | B | A− | 29 min | $95,965 |
| New Bedford | 19% | C− | A | 25 min | $56,981 |
| Mattapoisett | 2% | A+ | B− | 29 min | $130,241 |
| Acushnet | 1% | A− | C+ | 28 min | $89,503 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairhaven’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 Fairhaven: questions
What is the median household income in Fairhaven?
$95,965 (±$19,128) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairhaven?
8.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairhaven?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairhaven work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Bedford (19%, 4 mi), Dartmouth (7%, 6 mi), Fall River (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairhaven walkable?
Fairhaven is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairhaven without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairhaven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairhaven
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.