Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Heath works elsewhere
There are 44 jobs in Heath; 283 of its residents have a job. Only 1% work in Heath itself; outside it, Greenfield draws the most (13%, 13 miles). 32% of workers have no commute at all, where Massachusetts as a whole has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Heath apart on work
Heath is a place people come home to
There are 44 jobs based in Heath, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Heath has about 480 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Heath works from home
32% of Heath workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Heath 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 ↓
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 283 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who leaves Heath for work, and who comes in
On a workday 280 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere.
About 480 people are in Heath on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Heath
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Heath workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 300 commuters (the 32% 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.
Commuting out of Heath: the destinations
Where Heath clocks in
13% of workers
11% of workers
6% 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 kinds of work in Heath
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Heath, 2013 → 2023: 57 → 44. 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 Heath’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Heath to work
About 23% 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.
16% of Heath works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Charlemont (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Heath workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heath | – | — | — | 35 min | $98,750 |
| Charlemont | 11% | D | B | 37 min | $53,063 |
| Rowe | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Colrain | 5% | C+ | D | 34 min | $80,673 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rowe: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Heath’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 Heath: questions
What is the median household income in Heath?
$98,750 (±$23,001) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Heath?
6.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Heath?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Heath work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenfield (13%, 13 mi), Charlemont (11%, 4 mi), Shelburne (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Heath without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Heath, from the people who make the trip.
More of Heath
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.