Photo: w:Flickr user Paul Keleher · CC BY 2.0Grafton has higher household incomes than 92% of U.S. towns
Only 8% work in Grafton; the top destination outside it is Worcester (14%, 7 miles). 6.3% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Grafton are A for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Inside Grafton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grafton is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #96 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($131,484, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Grafton could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Grafton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,565 residents head out to work, 728 work right here, and 3,770 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Grafton on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.48 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 towns that employ Grafton’s residents
Where Grafton clocks in
14% 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.
What Grafton’s employers do
4,498 jobs are based in Grafton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grafton, 2013 → 2023: 3,872 → 4,498. 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 Grafton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Grafton: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grafton workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,142 commuters (the 22% 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 commute from Grafton, by distance
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 Grafton, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grafton is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #198 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Grafton 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 10,488 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% 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). 4.6% of Grafton households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Grafton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Grafton is 377th among 1,705 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Perrysburg OH | 25,441 | $112K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 13% | A |
| 376 | Northborough MA | 16,080 | $153K | 3.7% | 5.0% | 9% | A |
| 377 | Grafton MA | 21,043 | $131K | 6.3% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| 378 | Rockaway Township NJ | 27,728 | $142K | 4.0% | 5.5% | 6% | A |
| 379 | Champlin MN | 23,125 | $116K | 7.2% | 3.6% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | 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 Grafton, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
23% of Grafton works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grafton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | – | A | B | 33 min | $131,484 |
| Upton | under 2% | A− | C | 35 min | $155,508 |
| Westborough | 6% | A | A− | 29 min | $141,944 |
| Shrewsbury | 3% | A+ | B+ | 31 min | $139,302 |
| Sutton | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $147,125 |
| Northbridge | under 2% | B+ | B− | 31 min | $111,319 |
| Millbury | under 2% | A | B− | 29 min | $118,790 |
| Worcester | 14% | C+ | A+ | 24 min | $70,102 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Worcester. Darker towns draw more of Grafton’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 Grafton: questions
What is the median household income in Grafton?
$131,484 (±$11,211) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grafton?
6.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grafton?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grafton work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (14%, 7 mi), Boston (8%, 35 mi), Westborough (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Grafton walkable?
Grafton is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grafton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grafton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grafton
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.