Photo: Grk1011/Stephen · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Melrose top those of 92% of U.S. towns
Melrose grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 3.8% (Massachusetts 10.0%). 30% of workers work from home, next to 19% for Massachusetts as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Melrose apart
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Melrose’s working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 35 minutes, longer than the Massachusetts average of 29. Time on the road ↓
Most Melrose residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 3% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Melrose
30% of Melrose workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
One in three of Melrose works in Boston
5,015 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Boston, 8.8 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Melrose itself. The commute map ↓
Three in four Melrose workers earn over $40,000 a year
78% of Melrose’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. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Melrose
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Melrose is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #30 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Melrose could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Melrose workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,310 commuters (the 30% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Melrose
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.
32% of working residents work in Boston
Where Melrose clocks in
32% of workers
8% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Melrose
6,023 jobs are based in Melrose.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Melrose, 2013 → 2023: 5,560 → 6,023. 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 Melrose’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Melrose
On a workday 14,357 residents head out to work, 1,097 work right here, and 4,926 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Melrose on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.39 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.
Melrose is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Melrose is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #14 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Melrose 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 16,058 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, 69% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 12.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 10.3% of Melrose households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 18% of Melrose’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Melrose is 95th of 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 37 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Pittsford NY | 30,588 | $146K | 3.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A+ |
| 94 | Chantilly VA | 24,036 | $157K | 5.8% | 2.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 95 | Melrose MA | 29,597 | $134K | 3.8% | 3.7% | 7% | A+ |
| 96 | Rosemount MN | 31,881 | $130K | 3.0% | 3.5% | 7% | A+ |
| 97 | Syracuse UT | 39,909 | $133K | 4.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Melrose, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around Melrose
The biggest share goes to Wakefield (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Melrose’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 Melrose: questions
What is the median household income in Melrose?
$133,953 (±$14,410) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Melrose?
3.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Melrose?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Melrose work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (32%, 9 mi), Cambridge (8%, 6 mi), Woburn (2%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Melrose walkable?
Melrose is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 21% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Melrose without a car?
18% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 69% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Melrose, from the people who make the trip.
More of Melrose
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.