Photo: Daderot · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Lincoln are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 2.3% of residents, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Lincoln grades A+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 34% of workers have no commute at all (Massachusetts 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Lincoln
Lincoln trades workers with the towns around it
Lincoln has about as many jobs (2,441) as working residents (2,513), but they are mostly different people: 2,378 residents leave for work each day while 2,306 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Lincoln are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Lincoln works from home
34% of Lincoln workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Lincoln’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 75% of the jobs based in Lincoln. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Lincoln is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lincoln
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lincoln is among the top U.S. towns, #2 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($175,117, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lincoln could be anywhere from A to A+.
A workday in Lincoln: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,378 residents head out to work, 135 work right here, and 2,306 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 (0.97 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.
Commuting from Lincoln: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,071 commuters (the 34% 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.
Most jobs in Lincoln are in services
2,441 jobs are based in Lincoln.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 2,344 → 2,441. 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 Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
25% of working residents work in Boston
Where Lincoln clocks in
25% of workers
11% of workers
5% 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.
Where in the region Lincoln works
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.
Getting around Lincoln: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lincoln is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #218 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.3% 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 3,146 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 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% 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). 6.8% of Lincoln households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Lincoln’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lincoln next to U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300: 34th of 3,229 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 33 | Bethany CT | 5,339 | $166K | 2.3% | 1.1% | 7% | A+ |
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 35 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 36 | Pepper Pike OH | 6,886 | $228K | 1.8% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 84 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Lincoln, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
12% of Lincoln works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Waltham (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lincoln workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | – | A+ | B− | 26 min | $175,117 |
| Concord | 2% | A+ | A | 32 min | $195,350 |
| Weston | under 2% | A+ | A− | 27 min | $250,000+ |
| Bedford | 2% | A− | A− | 26 min | $172,400 |
| Waltham | 5% | A− | A+ | 25 min | $120,216 |
| Lexington | 3% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $238,444 |
| Wayland | under 2% | A+ | B | 31 min | $224,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lincoln’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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$175,117 (±$43,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
2.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (25%, 16 mi), Cambridge (11%, 10 mi), Waltham (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lincoln walkable?
Lincoln is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lincoln without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
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.