Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Montague (5.1%) than in 63% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Montague; the top destination outside it is Greenfield (16%, 6 miles). Montague grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Montague, in brief
Montague and Greenfield trade workers both ways
Greenfield is the top workplace for Montague residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Montague come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Montague are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Montague makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Montague are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Montague residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. 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 Montague
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montague is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #267 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Montague’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Montague could be anywhere from C− to B.
Where the trip to work from Montague ends
Where Montague clocks in
16% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Montague: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montague workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,640 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.
A place that makes things: 38% of Montague’s jobs are in goods
2,457 jobs are based in Montague.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montague, 2013 → 2023: 2,558 → 2,457. 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 Montague’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Montague
On a workday 3,524 residents head out to work, 574 work right here, and 1,883 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,700 people are in Montague on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.60 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 distance from Montague to work
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Montague 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, Montague is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #125 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Montague 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 4,275 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 49% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% 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). 11.0% of Montague households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Montague’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Montague ranks: 2,134th of 2,947 U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,300
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 88 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,132 | Clewiston FL | 7,594 | $57K | 16.3% | 1.3% | 26% | C |
| 2,133 | Clute TX | 10,821 | $70K | 10.4% | 8.6% | 16% | C |
| 2,134 | Montague MA | 8,377 | $71K | 11.5% | 5.1% | 14% | C |
| 2,135 | Pleasant Township OH | 10,983 | $61K | 12.3% | 4.7% | 38% | C |
| 2,136 | Fort Lupton CO | 10,402 | $81K | 17.6% | 8.4% | 8% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,947 | 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 Montague, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
21% of Montague works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montague workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montague | – | C | A− | 21 min | $70,510 |
| Erving | under 2% | B− | C+ | 28 min | $77,656 |
| Wendell | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Deerfield | 5% | A− | A | 18 min | $106,136 |
| Gill | under 2% | B | B+ | 21 min | $90,208 |
| Greenfield | 16% | C− | A | 17 min | $55,614 |
| Sunderland | under 2% | B− | A | 17 min | $68,083 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wendell: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Greenfield. Darker towns draw more of Montague’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 Montague: questions
What is the median household income in Montague?
$70,510 (±$11,958) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montague?
11.5%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montague?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montague work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenfield (16%, 6 mi), Amherst Town (6%, 13 mi), Northampton (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Montague walkable?
Montague is more walkable than 79% 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 Montague without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Montague, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montague
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.