Photo: Smc6287 at English Wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in Holliston earn more than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 31% of workers, against 19% across Massachusetts. 3.1% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. Jobs and income earn Holliston A; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Holliston
Home offices are common in Holliston
31% of Holliston workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Holliston pay over $40,000 a year
77% of the jobs based in Holliston pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Holliston draws workers from far and wide
The 5,781 jobs in Holliston are filled from a wide area. Holliston’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Holliston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Holliston is Boston, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (947) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Holliston makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Holliston are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Holliston residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 11%. 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.
Inside Holliston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Holliston is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #61 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Holliston’s grade up ($159,817, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, 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, Holliston could be anywhere from A− to A+.
A commute of about 34 minutes in Holliston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Holliston workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,454 commuters (the 31% 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.
Goods jobs make up 37% of work in Holliston
5,781 jobs are based in Holliston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Holliston, 2013 → 2023: 6,029 → 5,781. 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 Holliston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
14% of working residents work in Boston
Where Holliston clocks in
14% of workers
7% 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.
How far it is to work from Holliston
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 workday shuffle in and out of Holliston
On a workday 6,332 residents head out to work, 638 work right here, and 5,143 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 (0.83 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.
Few in Holliston walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Holliston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #209 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Holliston 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 7,914 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 3.2% of Holliston households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Holliston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Holliston places 292nd of 2,109 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 290 | Ripon CA | 16,140 | $133K | 5.4% | 2.7% | 11% | A |
| 291 | Louisville CO | 20,581 | $147K | 4.5% | 3.6% | 11% | A |
| 292 | Holliston MA | 15,206 | $160K | 3.1% | 4.4% | 9% | A |
| 293 | Durham NH | 15,346 | $124K | 15.1% | 4.3% | 18% | A |
| 294 | Barrington Township IL | 16,247 | $184K | 5.3% | 4.2% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Holliston, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Holliston and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Milford (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Holliston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holliston | – | A | B− | 34 min | $159,817 |
| Sherborn | under 3% | A | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Medway | under 3% | A | B | 30 min | $173,750 |
| Hopkinton | under 3% | A+ | B+ | 36 min | $222,801 |
| Milford | 3% | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $96,365 |
| Millis | under 3% | A | B− | 31 min | $155,996 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Holliston’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 Holliston: questions
What is the median household income in Holliston?
$159,817 (±$8,576) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Holliston?
3.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Holliston?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Holliston work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (14%, 24 mi), Framingham (7%, 8 mi), Natick (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Holliston walkable?
Holliston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Holliston without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Holliston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Holliston
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.