Adams, Frederic C., Public Library · Public domainHouseholds in Kingston have higher incomes than those in 88% of U.S. towns
Kingston grades A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. The poverty rate is 3.1%; Massachusetts has 10.0%. About one in ten stay in Kingston for work; outside it, Boston is the main destination (13%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Kingston apart on work
Kingston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kingston is Boston, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (833) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Kingston 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.
How Kingston earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kingston is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #39 of 283 in Massachusetts. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns). 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, Kingston could be anywhere from A− to A+.
How far Kingston goes to work
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.
Commuting from Kingston: about 35 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kingston workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,398 commuters (the 20% 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.
Who commutes out of Kingston, and who commutes in
On a workday 5,854 residents head out to work, 721 work right here, and 4,339 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Kingston on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
Where the trip to work from Kingston ends
Where Kingston clocks in
13% of workers
10% of workers
3% 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 Kingston’s employers do
5,060 jobs are based in Kingston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kingston, 2013 → 2023: 4,463 → 5,060. 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 Kingston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Kingston, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kingston is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #205 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Kingston 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 7,949 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 5% 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 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 7.8% of Kingston households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Kingston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Kingston is 216th among 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 214 | Sudbury MA | 19,643 | $236K | 3.0% | 4.2% | 8% | A |
| 215 | Shiloh Valley Township IL | 12,737 | $105K | 4.8% | 1.5% | 5% | A |
| 216 | Kingston MA | 14,548 | $120K | 3.1% | 2.2% | 11% | A |
| 217 | East Greenwich RI | 14,790 | $177K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| 218 | Superior CO | 13,637 | $159K | 3.2% | 3.7% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | 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 Kingston, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Kingston’s workers
The biggest share goes to Plymouth (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kingston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | – | A | B− | 35 min | $119,876 |
| Duxbury | 2% | A | A− | 33 min | $176,583 |
| Plymouth | 10% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $116,941 |
| North Plymouth | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| South Duxbury | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Plympton | under 3% | B+ | D | 33 min | $126,736 |
| Pembroke | 3% | A | B | 35 min | $146,285 |
Same-state neighbors only. North Plymouth and South Duxbury: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kingston’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 Kingston: questions
What is the median household income in Kingston?
$119,876 (±$13,168) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kingston?
3.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kingston?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kingston work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (13%, 28 mi), Plymouth (10%, 10 mi), Quincy (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kingston walkable?
Kingston is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kingston without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kingston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kingston
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.