Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Merrimac (1.5%) is lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns. Merrimac grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Merrimac, in a few figures
Merrimac’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Merrimac is Boston, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (316) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Merrimac is a place people come home to
There are 845 jobs based in Merrimac, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Merrimac has about 4,300 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Merrimac
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Merrimac is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #98 of 283 in Massachusetts. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Merrimac could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Short hops and long hauls from Merrimac
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.
How a workday changes Merrimac
On a workday 3,188 residents head out to work, 215 work right here, and 630 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Merrimac on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
9% of working residents work in Boston
Where Merrimac clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
What the 845 jobs in Merrimac are
845 jobs are based in Merrimac.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merrimac, 2013 → 2023: 668 → 845. 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 Merrimac’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merrimac workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,519 commuters (the 8% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Merrimac
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Merrimac is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #122 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Merrimac 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 3,844 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 3.0% of Merrimac households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Merrimac’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,200, Merrimac ranks 497th of 3,168 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 83 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 495 | Mills River NC | 7,504 | $105K | 2.6% | 2.8% | 9% | A |
| 496 | Middlebury CT | 8,093 | $133K | 5.8% | 4.0% | 10% | A |
| 497 | Merrimac MA | 6,818 | $123K | 9.4% | 1.5% | 6% | A |
| 498 | Santa Rita Ranch TX | 6,586 | $161K | 0.9% | 5.9% | 1% | A |
| 499 | Hollymead VA | 8,482 | $118K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | 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 Merrimac, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
11% of Merrimac works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Haverhill (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Merrimac workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrimac | – | A | A− | 32 min | $123,054 |
| West Newbury | under 2% | A+ | C− | 31 min | $179,500 |
| Amesbury | 5% | A− | A− | 29 min | $103,554 |
| Haverhill | 6% | B | A | 27 min | $88,326 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Merrimac’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 Merrimac: questions
What is the median household income in Merrimac?
$123,054 (±$16,062) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merrimac?
9.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merrimac?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merrimac work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (9%, 35 mi), Newburyport (7%, 7 mi), Haverhill (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Merrimac walkable?
Merrimac is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Merrimac without a car?
2% 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 Merrimac, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merrimac
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.