Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainHousehold incomes in Milford top those of 74% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 7.6% of residents, where Massachusetts as a whole has 10.0%. Jobs and income earn Milford B+; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven stay in Milford for work; outside it, Boston is the main destination (13%, 29 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Milford
Milford trades workers with the towns around it
Milford has about as many jobs (17,101) as working residents (14,557), but they are mostly different people: 12,174 residents leave for work each day while 14,718 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Milford are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Milford workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Milford draws workers from far and wide
The 17,101 jobs in Milford are filled from a wide area. Milford’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Milford’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Milford is Boston, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (1,919) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Milford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Milford is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #184 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Milford’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, 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, Milford could be anywhere from B to A.
Milford by day and by night
On a workday 12,174 residents head out to work, 2,383 work right here, and 14,718 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Milford takes about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milford workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,835 commuters (the 14% 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.
The towns that employ Milford’s residents
Where Milford clocks in
13% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
Where in the region Milford works
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.
70% of the jobs in Milford pay over $3,333 a month
17,101 jobs are based in Milford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milford, 2013 → 2023: 14,505 → 17,101. 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 Milford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Milford, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Milford is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #143 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 16,178 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 63% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 7.1% of Milford households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Milford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000, Milford ranks 594th of 1,334 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 38 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 592 | Liberty MO | 31,319 | $89K | 7.0% | 4.5% | 18% | B+ |
| 593 | Shields Township IL | 41,282 | $113K | 9.8% | 5.4% | 13% | B+ |
| 594 | Milford MA | 30,832 | $96K | 7.6% | 5.0% | 16% | B+ |
| 595 | Groveland FL | 25,526 | $100K | 3.6% | 4.5% | 5% | B+ |
| 596 | Springfield VA | 31,154 | $126K | 8.9% | 6.9% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | 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 Milford, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Milford
The biggest share goes to Hopkinton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Milford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | – | B+ | B+ | 37 min | $96,365 |
| Upton | under 2% | A− | C | 35 min | $155,508 |
| Hopedale | under 2% | A+ | B | 31 min | $115,722 |
| Holliston | under 2% | A | B− | 34 min | $159,817 |
| Bellingham | under 2% | A− | B | 36 min | $125,307 |
| Hopkinton | 3% | A+ | B+ | 36 min | $222,801 |
| Medway | under 2% | A | B | 30 min | $173,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Milford’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 Milford: questions
What is the median household income in Milford?
$96,365 (±$4,232) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milford?
7.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milford?
37 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Milford work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (13%, 29 mi), Framingham (5%, 11 mi), Worcester (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Milford walkable?
Milford is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milford without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Milford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milford
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.