Photo: Nick Allen · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Fitchburg (6.7%) is higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 10% of workers, where Massachusetts as a whole has 19%. Fitchburg grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.4 in Worcester.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Fitchburg’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fitchburg is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #266 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Fitchburg’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fitchburg could be anywhere from C to B−.
The daily commute in and out of Fitchburg
On a workday 14,632 residents head out to work, 3,078 work right here, and 8,766 people come in from elsewhere.
About 36,000 people are in Fitchburg on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
12% of working residents work in Leominster
Where Fitchburg clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Fitchburg’s 11,844 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fitchburg, 2013 → 2023: 11,340 → 11,844. 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 Fitchburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Fitchburg takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fitchburg workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,548 commuters (the 10% 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 Fitchburg goes to work
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.
Fitchburg is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fitchburg is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #60 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Fitchburg 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 20,668 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 11.2% of Fitchburg households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Fitchburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
878th of 1,054: where Fitchburg ranks among U.S. towns of 29,000 to 57,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 876 | Pekin IL | 31,277 | $61K | 12.8% | 6.1% | 20% | C+ |
| 877 | Tupelo MS | 38,087 | $66K | 15.1% | 5.2% | 53% | C+ |
| 878 | Fitchburg MA | 42,136 | $73K | 15.6% | 6.7% | 17% | C |
| 879 | Titusville FL | 49,800 | $66K | 11.3% | 5.0% | 21% | C |
| 880 | East Lake-Orient Park FL | 29,213 | $57K | 17.8% | 6.0% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,054 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Fitchburg, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door is work for 14% of Fitchburg
The biggest share goes to Leominster (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fitchburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg | – | C | A | 27 min | $73,040 |
| Leominster | 12% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $83,816 |
| Westminster | under 2% | A | C | 27 min | $106,331 |
| Lunenburg | 2% | A− | B | 36 min | $112,828 |
| Ashby | under 2% | B+ | B− | 33 min | $115,598 |
| Ashburnham | under 2% | B+ | C | 32 min | $118,809 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fitchburg’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 Fitchburg: questions
What is the median household income in Fitchburg?
$73,040 (±$5,455) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fitchburg?
15.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fitchburg?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fitchburg work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Leominster (12%, 6 mi), Worcester (6%, 23 mi), Boston (5%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fitchburg walkable?
Fitchburg is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fitchburg without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fitchburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fitchburg
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.