Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in North Adams have lower incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 18.6% of residents, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. The two grades for North Adams are D for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.4 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
The work figures that set North Adams apart
Commutes from North Adams are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
North Adams trades workers with the towns around it
North Adams has about as many jobs (4,355) as working residents (4,709), but they are mostly different people: 3,387 residents leave for work each day while 3,033 people come in. Only 30% of the jobs in North Adams are held by people who 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for North Adams
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Adams is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #282 of 283 in Massachusetts. Unemployment holds North Adams’ grade up (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($47,500, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Adams could be anywhere from D− to C.
A commute of about 17 minutes in North Adams
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Adams workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,941 commuters (the 9% 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.
In and out of North Adams on a workday
On a workday 3,387 residents head out to work, 1,322 work right here, and 3,033 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 (0.92 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.
17% of working residents work in Pittsfield
Where North Adams clocks in
17% of workers
14% 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.
Inside North Adams’ 4,355 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Adams, 2013 → 2023: 4,845 → 4,355. 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 North Adams’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from North Adams
About 19% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: North Adams
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Adams is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #61 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place North Adams 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 5,442 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 16.7% of North Adams households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of North Adams’ commuters take a bus or train.
Where North Adams sits among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,198 | Baker City OR | 10,071 | $62K | 14.0% | 7.2% | 53% | D |
| 2,199 | New Kingman-Butler AZ | 13,993 | $41K | 20.8% | 4.1% | 3% | D |
| 2,200 | North Adams MA | 12,368 | $48K | 18.6% | 5.0% | 28% | D |
| 2,201 | Lovington NM | 11,620 | $69K | 25.0% | 7.3% | 30% | D |
| 2,202 | Alma MI | 9,304 | $53K | 21.7% | 6.9% | 24% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 North Adams, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
20% of North Adams works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Williamstown (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Adams workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Adams | – | D | A | 17 min | $47,500 |
| Clarksburg | 1% | B− | D | 24 min | $77,143 |
| Williamstown | 14% | B | A | 16 min | $106,650 |
| Adams | 5% | C− | B− | 24 min | $58,929 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Adams’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 North Adams: questions
What is the median household income in North Adams?
$47,500 (±$7,141) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Adams?
18.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Adams?
17 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Adams work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsfield (17%, 17 mi), Williamstown (14%, 6 mi), Adams (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Adams walkable?
North Adams is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Adams without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Adams, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Adams
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.