Photo: Nantuckite · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Hopedale (1.6%) than in 89% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Hopedale is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Hopedale grades A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 8% work in Hopedale; the top destination outside it is Boston (12%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Hopedale apart on work
Hopedale’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Hopedale is Boston, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (393) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Hopedale has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Hopedale went from 1,739 in 2014 to 2,367 in 2024, +36%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Hopedale pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Hopedale pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Hopedale gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hopedale is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #7 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Hopedale’s grade. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hopedale could be anywhere from A to A+.
How far Hopedale’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Goods jobs make up 33% of work in Hopedale
2,367 jobs are based in Hopedale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hopedale, 2014 → 2024: 1,739 → 2,367. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hopedale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Hopedale
On a workday 2,934 residents head out to work, 247 work right here, and 2,120 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Hopedale on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.74 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Hopedale goes to work
Where Hopedale clocks in
12% of workers
10% 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.
Hopedale’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hopedale workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,589 commuters (the 13% 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.
Few in Hopedale walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hopedale is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #197 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,984 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 10.0% of Hopedale households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Hopedale’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Hopedale is 92nd of 3,444 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 91 | West Bountiful UT | 5,931 | $135K | 3.7% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 92 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 93 | Mendham Township NJ | 6,075 | $250K | 2.3% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 94 | Somerset WI | 4,536 | $131K | 1.6% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,444 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 3% | 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 Hopedale, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door is work for 10% of Hopedale
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hopedale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopedale | – | A+ | B | 31 min | $115,722 |
| Bellingham | under 3% | A− | B | 36 min | $125,307 |
| Milford | 10% | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $96,365 |
| Mendon | under 3% | A− | C− | 30 min | $132,256 |
| Upton | under 3% | A− | C | 35 min | $155,508 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Milford. Darker towns draw more of Hopedale’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 2024, 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 Hopedale: questions
What is the median household income in Hopedale?
$115,722 (±$19,447) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hopedale?
2.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hopedale?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hopedale work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (12%, 30 mi), Milford (10%, 2 mi), Framingham (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Hopedale walkable?
Hopedale is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hopedale without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hopedale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hopedale
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.