Photo: Oceanhistory · CC BY-SA 4.0Marblehead has higher household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. 4.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Massachusetts has 10.0%. For jobs and income Marblehead is better than 97% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Marblehead, in brief
The figures behind Marblehead’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($182,132, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, 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, Marblehead could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Marblehead, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marblehead workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,896 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.
How many people are in Marblehead by day
On a workday 7,086 residents head out to work, 1,475 work right here, and 3,182 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Marblehead on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
23% of working residents work in Boston
Where Marblehead clocks in
23% of workers
7% 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.
Most jobs in Marblehead are in services
4,657 jobs are based in Marblehead.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marblehead, 2013 → 2023: 4,179 → 4,657. 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 Marblehead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Marblehead’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Marblehead
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,443 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 3.6% of Marblehead households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Marblehead’s commuters take a bus or train.
Marblehead is 84th of 1,931 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 28,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Garden City NY | 23,043 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 83 | Bay Village OH | 15,792 | $132K | 4.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| 84 | Marblehead MA | 20,583 | $182K | 4.4% | 2.6% | 17% | A+ |
| 85 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 86 | Ramsey NJ | 14,925 | $161K | 4.3% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | 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 Marblehead, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Marblehead and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Salem (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marblehead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marblehead | – | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $182,132 |
| Salem | 7% | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,153 |
| Swampscott | 1% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $134,386 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Marblehead’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 Marblehead: questions
What is the median household income in Marblehead?
$182,132 (±$27,872) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marblehead?
4.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marblehead?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marblehead work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (23%, 13 mi), Salem (7%, 2 mi), Lynn (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marblehead walkable?
Marblehead is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marblehead without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marblehead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marblehead
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.