Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainHouseholds in Mendon earn more than those in 92% of U.S. towns
7.1% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Jobs and income earn Mendon A−; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 8% work in Mendon itself; outside it, Boston draws the most (12%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Mendon, in brief
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Mendon
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mendon is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #127 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($132,256, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, 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, Mendon could be anywhere from B− to A+.
How far Mendon’s workers travel
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.
In and out of Mendon on a workday
On a workday 2,989 residents head out to work, 251 work right here, and 1,337 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Mendon on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
The towns that employ Mendon’s residents
Where Mendon clocks in
12% of workers
8% 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.
Inside Mendon’s 1,588 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mendon, 2013 → 2023: 1,246 → 1,588. 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 Mendon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Mendon: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mendon workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,827 commuters (the 15% 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 of Mendon commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mendon is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns, #262 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 3,330 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.1% of Mendon households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Mendon’s commuters take a bus or train.
632nd of 3,306: where Mendon ranks among U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 630 | Harlan Township OH | 5,336 | $108K | 5.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A− |
| 631 | East Rockhill Township PA | 5,908 | $134K | 4.8% | 4.9% | 3% | A− |
| 632 | Mendon MA | 6,479 | $132K | 7.1% | 4.1% | 8% | A− |
| 633 | North Riverside IL | 7,161 | $77K | 7.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A− |
| 634 | Chesapeake Beach MD | 6,466 | $139K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | 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 Mendon, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Mendon and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Bellingham (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mendon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendon | – | A− | C− | 30 min | $132,256 |
| Bellingham | 3% | A− | B | 36 min | $125,307 |
| Hopedale | under 2% | A+ | B | 31 min | $115,722 |
| Upton | under 2% | A− | C | 35 min | $155,508 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mendon’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 Mendon: questions
What is the median household income in Mendon?
$132,256 (±$32,533) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mendon?
7.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mendon?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mendon work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (12%, 32 mi), Milford (8%, 5 mi), Marlborough (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mendon walkable?
Mendon is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mendon without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mendon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mendon
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.