Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Hanover top those of 98% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Hanover A−; getting around on foot earns it B. 4.8% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. About one in ten work in Hanover itself; outside it, Boston draws the most (23%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Hanover apart on work
Hanover trades workers with the towns around it
Hanover has about as many jobs (7,334) as working residents (7,278), but they are mostly different people: 6,542 residents leave for work each day while 6,598 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Hanover are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Hanover
73% of Hanover residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Hanover pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Hanover
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hanover is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #138 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Hanover’s grade up ($189,803, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hanover could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Hanover
On a workday 6,542 residents head out to work, 736 work right here, and 6,598 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 (1.01 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.
The kinds of work in Hanover
7,334 jobs are based in Hanover.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hanover, 2013 → 2023: 6,420 → 7,334. 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 Hanover’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Hanover goes to work
Where Hanover clocks in
23% 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.
Hanover’s commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hanover workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,191 commuters (the 20% 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.
Half of Hanover commutes less than 15 miles
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.
Most trips from Hanover start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hanover is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #186 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,697 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.6% of Hanover households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Hanover’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Hanover ranks: 678th of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 676 | North Canton OH | 17,692 | $73K | 6.4% | 1.7% | 9% | A− |
| 677 | Seekonk MA | 16,046 | $121K | 4.7% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 678 | Hanover MA | 14,971 | $190K | 4.8% | 6.5% | 10% | A− |
| 679 | Stallings NC | 17,760 | $116K | 4.8% | 5.3% | 3% | A− |
| 680 | York ME | 14,293 | $121K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 31% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | 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 Hanover, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
How Hanover compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Norwell (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hanover workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover | – | A− | B | 32 min | $189,803 |
| Norwell | 4% | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $188,699 |
| Pembroke | 2% | A | B | 35 min | $146,285 |
| Hanson | under 3% | A | C+ | 34 min | $132,200 |
| North Pembroke | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Rockland | 3% | A− | A− | 33 min | $112,405 |
Same-state neighbors only. North Pembroke: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hanover’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 Hanover: questions
What is the median household income in Hanover?
$189,803 (±$23,292) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hanover?
4.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hanover?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hanover work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (23%, 17 mi), Quincy (5%, 12 mi), Norwell (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hanover walkable?
Hanover is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hanover without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hanover, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hanover
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.