Hanscom AFB has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Hardly any work in Hanscom AFB; the top destination outside it is Boston (26%, 16 miles). Hanscom AFB has 265 jobs, and 640 of its residents work somewhere. A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes, next to 29 for Massachusetts and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Hanscom AFB
Fewer jobs are based in Hanscom AFB than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hanscom AFB fell from 491 in 2013 to 265 in 2023, −46%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Hanscom AFB are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 640 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Most jobs in Hanscom AFB are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hanscom AFB, 2013 → 2023: 491 → 265. 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 Hanscom AFB’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Hanscom AFB takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hanscom AFB workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 889 commuters (the 21% 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 many people are in Hanscom AFB by day
On a workday 640 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 265 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Hanscom AFB on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Hanscom AFB goes to work
Where Hanscom AFB clocks in
26% of workers
9% 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.
How far Hanscom AFB’s workers travel
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.
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 Hanscom AFB: questions
What is the median household income in Hanscom AFB?
$104,688 (±$76,436) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hanscom AFB?
0.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hanscom AFB?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hanscom AFB work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (26%, 16 mi), Cambridge (9%, 10 mi), Waltham (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Hanscom AFB without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hanscom AFB, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hanscom AFB
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.