Most of Housatonic commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Only 2% work in Housatonic; the top destination outside it is Great Barrington (26%, 2 miles). Employers in Housatonic report 70 jobs for 393 working residents. Home is the office for 26% of workers (Massachusetts 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Housatonic stands out on work
Housatonic is a place people come home to
There are 70 jobs based in Housatonic, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Housatonic has about 790 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Housatonic are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 54 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 393 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In and out of Housatonic on a workday
On a workday 385 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 62 people come in from elsewhere.
About 790 people are in Housatonic on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Housatonic workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 482 commuters (the 26% 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.
The towns that employ Housatonic’s residents
Where Housatonic clocks in
26% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
Goods, not services: 53% of the jobs in Housatonic
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Housatonic, 2013 → 2023: 30 → 70. 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 Housatonic’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Housatonic
About 20% 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.
Around Housatonic: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Stockbridge (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Housatonic workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housatonic | – | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Stockbridge | 7% | B− | A | 20 min | $146,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Housatonic’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 Housatonic: questions
What is the poverty rate in Housatonic?
16.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Housatonic?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Housatonic work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Great Barrington (26%, 2 mi), Pittsfield (11%, 15 mi), Sheffield (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Housatonic without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Housatonic, from the people who make the trip.
More of Housatonic
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.