Methuen Memorial Music Hall · Photo: EraserGirl · Public domainMost of Methuen commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns. 14,174 jobs are based in Methuen for 25,943 working residents. The two grades for Methuen are B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Methuen
Income, poverty and work: Methuen’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Methuen is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #178 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Methuen’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Methuen could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Methuen on a workday afternoon
On a workday 23,140 residents head out to work, 2,803 work right here, and 11,371 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43,000 people are in Methuen on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Lawrence
Where Methuen clocks in
10% of workers
9% 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 Methuen’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Methuen, 2013 → 2023: 14,125 → 14,174. 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 Methuen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Methuen
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Methuen workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,204 commuters (the 12% 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 far it is to work from Methuen
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.
Methuen is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Methuen is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #139 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 27,580 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 30% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 6.0% of Methuen households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Methuen’s commuters take a bus or train.
344th of 834: where Methuen ranks among U.S. towns of 38,000 to 74,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Billerica MA | 42,632 | $148K | 5.4% | 3.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | Coon Rapids MN | 64,193 | $88K | 8.2% | 4.5% | 11% | B+ |
| 343 | Normal IL | 53,275 | $65K | 21.4% | 3.9% | 26% | B+ |
| 344 | Methuen MA | 54,584 | $113K | 7.9% | 5.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 345 | South Whittier CA | 55,650 | $101K | 10.6% | 4.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 346 | The Hammocks FL | 58,838 | $86K | 12.1% | 2.7% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 834 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Methuen, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work next door: 27% of Methuen’s workers
The biggest share goes to Lawrence (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Methuen workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methuen | – | B+ | A− | 28 min | $113,310 |
| Andover | 6% | A | A | 29 min | $172,606 |
| Haverhill | 4% | B | A | 27 min | $88,326 |
| North Andover | 3% | A | A− | 32 min | $140,670 |
| Lawrence | 10% | C | A+ | 23 min | $60,433 |
| 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 Methuen’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 Methuen: questions
What is the median household income in Methuen?
$113,310 (±$6,977) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Methuen?
7.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Methuen?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Methuen work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrence (10%, 3 mi), Boston (9%, 30 mi), Andover (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Methuen walkable?
Methuen is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Methuen without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Methuen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Methuen
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.