Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Households in Greenfield have lower incomes than those in 80% of U.S. towns
15.2% of residents are in poverty, where Massachusetts as a whole has 10.0%. Greenfield grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Greenfield at work: what stands out
Commutes from Greenfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Greenfield trades workers with the towns around it
Greenfield has about as many jobs (8,940) as working residents (8,592), but they are mostly different people: 6,347 residents leave for work each day while 6,695 people come in. Only 25% of the jobs in Greenfield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Greenfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greenfield is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #279 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Greenfield’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($55,614, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greenfield could be anywhere from D to C+.
The trip to work from Greenfield: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,092 commuters (the 12% 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.
In and out of Greenfield on a workday
On a workday 6,347 residents head out to work, 2,245 work right here, and 6,695 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 (1.04 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.
6% of working residents work in Northampton
Where Greenfield clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The 8,940 jobs based in Greenfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenfield, 2013 → 2023: 8,308 → 8,940. 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 Greenfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Greenfield
About 21% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Greenfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenfield is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #59 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Greenfield 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 8,048 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 67% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 15.0% of Greenfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Greenfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Greenfield ranks: 1,863rd of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Sharon MA | 18,798 | $192K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,861 | Hopewell VA | 23,261 | $55K | 21.8% | 9.2% | 12% | C− |
| 1,862 | Isla Vista CA | 13,920 | $26K | 70.4% | 17.4% | 5% | C− |
| 1,863 | Greenfield MA | 17,691 | $56K | 15.2% | 6.3% | 26% | C− |
| 1,864 | Washington Court House OH | 14,375 | $56K | 17.7% | 5.3% | 22% | C− |
| 1,865 | Harvey IL | 19,849 | $42K | 22.6% | 13.4% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Greenfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Greenfield
The biggest share goes to Montague (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greenfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | – | C− | A | 17 min | $55,614 |
| Gill | under 2% | B | B+ | 21 min | $90,208 |
| Deerfield | 4% | A− | A | 18 min | $106,136 |
| Montague | 5% | C | A− | 21 min | $70,510 |
| Turners Falls | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Bernardston | under 2% | B+ | D | 20 min | $81,940 |
| Leyden | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Shelburne | under 2% | C+ | A− | 29 min | $83,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Turners Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Leyden: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Greenfield’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 Greenfield: questions
What is the median household income in Greenfield?
$55,614 (±$7,382) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenfield?
15.2%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenfield?
17 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenfield work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Northampton (6%, 20 mi), Montague (5%, 6 mi), Springfield (4%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greenfield walkable?
Greenfield is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greenfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenfield
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.