Rotch, William J., Gothic Cottage · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in New Bedford (8.3%) is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
New Bedford grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston. At home: 5% of workers have no commute at all (Massachusetts 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How New Bedford earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Bedford is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #274 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds New Bedford’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Bedford could be anywhere from C− to C.
In and out of New Bedford on a workday
On a workday 30,060 residents head out to work, 12,876 work right here, and 18,170 people come in from elsewhere.
About 90,000 people are in New Bedford on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.72 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 2024, primary jobs.
8% of working residents work in Dartmouth
Where New Bedford clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in New Bedford: what the 31,046 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Bedford, 2014 → 2024: 32,927 → 31,046. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Bedford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 25 minutes in New Bedford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Bedford workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42,102 commuters (the 5% 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 distance from New Bedford to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: New Bedford
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Bedford is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #57 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.5% 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 44,504 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 82% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 16.6% of New Bedford households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of New Bedford’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How New Bedford compares with U.S. towns of 71,000 to 137,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Newton MA | 90,741 | $190K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Somerville MA | 84,211 | $133K | 9.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Cambridge MA | 122,588 | $131K | 12.8% | 3.4% | 32% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 402 | Trenton NJ | 91,506 | $53K | 21.6% | 10.1% | 18% | C− |
| 403 | Portage Township IN | 94,293 | $53K | 23.2% | 6.7% | 26% | C− |
| 404 | New Bedford MA | 101,834 | $57K | 20.6% | 8.3% | 30% | C− |
| 405 | Bowling Green KY | 78,505 | $49K | 25.6% | 4.9% | 55% | C− |
| 406 | Hemet CA | 93,649 | $58K | 14.9% | 8.0% | 13% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 424 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 New Bedford, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
New Bedford and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to Dartmouth (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Bedford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | – | C− | A | 25 min | $56,981 |
| Fairhaven | 5% | B | A− | 29 min | $95,965 |
| Acushnet | under 2% | A− | C+ | 28 min | $89,503 |
| Dartmouth | 8% | A− | A− | 27 min | $99,839 |
| Acushnet Center | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Bliss Corner | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Smith Mills | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Acushnet Center, Bliss Corner and Smith Mills: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Bedford’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 2024, 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 New Bedford: questions
What is the median household income in New Bedford?
$56,981 (±$3,070) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Bedford?
20.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Bedford?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Bedford work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dartmouth (8%, 7 mi), Fall River (7%, 9 mi), Boston (5%, 47 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is New Bedford walkable?
New Bedford is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Bedford without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 82% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Bedford, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Bedford
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.