Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Lowell (5.7%) is higher than in 71% of U.S. towns
Lowell grades B− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. For 11% of workers, the job is at home; Massachusetts has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Lowell’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lowell is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #244 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Lowell’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lowell could be anywhere from C+ to B.
A workday in Lowell: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 39,585 residents head out to work, 9,104 work right here, and 26,400 people come in from elsewhere.
About 107,000 people are in Lowell on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.73 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 2023, primary jobs.
6% of working residents work in Boston
Where Lowell clocks in
6% of workers
6% 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.
68% of the jobs in Lowell pay over $3,333 a month
35,504 jobs are based in Lowell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lowell, 2013 → 2023: 33,581 → 35,504. 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 Lowell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Lowell: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lowell workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 52,916 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.
Where in the region Lowell 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.
Lowell is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lowell is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #47 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 14.1% across Massachusetts.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 59,205 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 77% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 13.7% of Lowell households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lowell’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 84,000 to 162,000, Lowell ranks 223rd of 349 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Newton MA | 90,741 | $190K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Somerville MA | 84,211 | $133K | 9.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Cambridge MA | 122,588 | $131K | 12.8% | 3.4% | 32% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Gresham OR | 111,513 | $78K | 13.0% | 5.6% | 16% | B− |
| 222 | Indio CA | 94,269 | $77K | 11.5% | 4.8% | 16% | B− |
| 223 | Lowell MA | 119,971 | $79K | 16.9% | 5.7% | 19% | B− |
| 224 | Tyler TX | 113,723 | $67K | 12.5% | 4.5% | 51% | B− |
| 225 | Westminster CA | 88,966 | $86K | 14.4% | 7.2% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Lowell, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Lowell
The biggest share goes to Chelmsford (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lowell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | – | B− | A+ | 28 min | $78,658 |
| Chelmsford | 6% | A | A− | 28 min | $140,629 |
| Tewksbury | 3% | A | B+ | 30 min | $128,061 |
| Tyngsborough | under 3% | A− | C− | 24 min | $129,348 |
| Dracut | under 3% | A− | A− | 30 min | $114,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lowell’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 Lowell: questions
What is the median household income in Lowell?
$78,658 (±$3,823) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lowell?
16.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lowell?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lowell work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (6%, 26 mi), Chelmsford (6%, 4 mi), Billerica (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lowell walkable?
Lowell is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lowell without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 77% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lowell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lowell
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.