Photo: T.S. Custadio ToddC4176 15:19, 11 March 2007 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0Halifax has lower unemployment (1.1%) than 94% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in Halifax itself; outside it, Boston draws the most (12%, 24 miles). Jobs and income earn Halifax A+; getting around on foot earns it B+. Measured by household income, Halifax is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Halifax: the gist
Halifax is a place people come home to
There are 1,067 jobs based in Halifax, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Halifax has about 4,800 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Halifax’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Halifax is Boston, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (472) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Halifax workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Halifax
70% of Halifax residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 51% of the jobs based in Halifax pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Why Halifax gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Halifax is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #16 of 283 in Massachusetts. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.6%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Halifax could be anywhere from A to A+.
Halifax on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,935 residents head out to work, 131 work right here, and 936 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Halifax on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Halifax
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.
The trip to work from Halifax: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Halifax workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,305 commuters (the 14% 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.
What the 1,067 jobs in Halifax are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Halifax, 2013 → 2023: 1,056 → 1,067. 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 Halifax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Halifax to work: where people go
Where Halifax clocks in
12% 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.
Getting around Halifax: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Halifax is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #162 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,840 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 25% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 3.1% of Halifax households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Halifax’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Halifax is 148th of 3,026 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 91 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 147 | Mead CO | 7,042 | $125K | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 148 | Halifax MA | 7,845 | $119K | 2.6% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 149 | Lowell Township MI | 6,500 | $105K | 3.3% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 150 | Stonegate CO | 8,906 | $159K | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,026 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Halifax, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Halifax
The biggest share goes to Pembroke (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Halifax workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax | – | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $118,556 |
| Pembroke | 4% | A | B | 35 min | $146,285 |
| Bridgewater Town | under 3% | A− | A | 31 min | $112,651 |
| Plympton | under 3% | B+ | D | 33 min | $126,736 |
| Hanson | under 3% | A | C+ | 34 min | $132,200 |
| East Bridgewater | under 3% | A− | B− | 32 min | $133,853 |
| Middleborough | under 3% | B+ | B | 31 min | $97,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Halifax’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 Halifax: questions
What is the median household income in Halifax?
$118,556 (±$11,466) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Halifax?
2.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Halifax?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Halifax work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (12%, 24 mi), Plymouth (5%, 15 mi), Brockton (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Halifax walkable?
Halifax is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Halifax without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 25% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Halifax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Halifax
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.