Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Holyoke has higher unemployment (7.7%) than 87% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 9.7 in Springfield. Jobs and income earn Holyoke C−; getting around on foot earns it A. Measured by household income, Holyoke is behind 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Holyoke apart
Commutes from Holyoke are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Holyoke residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
The four measures behind Holyoke’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Holyoke is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #276 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Holyoke’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (27.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Holyoke could be anywhere from C− to C.
Time on the road from Holyoke: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Holyoke workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,249 commuters (the 11% 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 Holyoke commutes less than 7 miles
About 16% 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.
Holyoke fills up on a workday
On a workday 11,538 residents head out to work, 3,566 work right here, and 16,048 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43,000 people are in Holyoke on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
14% of working residents work in Springfield
Where Holyoke clocks in
14% of workers
7% 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.
What work there is in Holyoke: 19,614 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Holyoke, 2013 → 2023: 20,375 → 19,614. 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 Holyoke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Holyoke
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Holyoke is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #49 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Holyoke 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 14,908 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 89% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 59% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 19.4% of Holyoke households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Holyoke’s commuters take a bus or train.
Holyoke and other U.S. towns of 27,000 to 51,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,000 | Walla Walla WA | 34,058 | $67K | 14.3% | 7.7% | 54% | C− |
| 1,001 | Cedar City UT | 41,871 | $64K | 18.9% | 4.0% | 51% | C− |
| 1,002 | Holyoke MA | 38,023 | $54K | 27.0% | 7.7% | 24% | C− |
| 1,003 | Salisbury NC | 36,879 | $54K | 26.3% | 5.8% | 25% | C− |
| 1,004 | Lompoc CA | 43,315 | $72K | 17.3% | 7.0% | 22% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,096 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Holyoke, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 19% of Holyoke
The biggest share goes to Chicopee (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Holyoke workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyoke | – | C− | A | 19 min | $53,605 |
| South Hadley | 2% | A− | A | 24 min | $93,910 |
| Chicopee | 7% | C+ | A | 21 min | $62,615 |
| Southampton | under 3% | A | D | 22 min | $123,125 |
| Easthampton | 2% | B | A | 22 min | $71,673 |
| West Springfield Town | 4% | B− | B+ | 19 min | $69,371 |
| Westfield | 4% | B+ | A | 27 min | $87,753 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Holyoke’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 Holyoke: questions
What is the median household income in Holyoke?
$53,605 (±$3,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Holyoke?
27.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Holyoke?
19 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Holyoke work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (14%, 8 mi), Chicopee (7%, 4 mi), Northampton (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Holyoke walkable?
Holyoke is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Holyoke without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 59% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Holyoke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Holyoke
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.