Photo: Richard B. Johnson · CC BY-SA 3.0North Brookfield has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
North Brookfield has 813 jobs; 2,520 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income North Brookfield is better than 53% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in ten work in North Brookfield; the top destination outside it is Worcester (16%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
North Brookfield and work: the main findings
North Brookfield 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 ↓
North Brookfield makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in North Brookfield are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs North Brookfield residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
North Brookfield empties out on a workday
About 3,100 people are in North Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than the 4,800 who live here: 2,300 head out to work and 570 come in. 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.
The figures behind North Brookfield’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds North Brookfield’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Brookfield could be anywhere from C to A.
Each way, about 37 minutes from North Brookfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Brookfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,291 commuters (the 13% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 38% of the jobs in North Brookfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Brookfield, 2013 → 2023: 773 → 813. 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 Brookfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in North Brookfield by day
On a workday 2,279 residents head out to work, 241 work right here, and 572 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in North Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
Where North Brookfield goes to work
Where North Brookfield clocks in
16% of workers
5% 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 commute from North Brookfield, by distance
About 15% 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.
Most of North Brookfield commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,635 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.3% of North Brookfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of North Brookfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, North Brookfield is 1,882nd among 3,753 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,880 | Wayne Township OH | 4,756 | $80K | 6.5% | 6.5% | 1% | B− |
| 1,881 | Montgomery Township PA | 5,823 | $99K | 7.9% | 4.0% | 6% | B− |
| 1,882 | North Brookfield MA | 4,793 | $79K | 12.9% | 3.2% | 10% | B− |
| 1,883 | Reynolds Township MI | 5,687 | $73K | 9.2% | 3.6% | 5% | B− |
| 1,884 | Green Township OH | 5,163 | $94K | 13.8% | 2.9% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,753 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Brookfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
North Brookfield and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to East Brookfield (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Brookfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Brookfield | – | B− | C− | 37 min | $79,285 |
| Brookfield | under 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $81,250 |
| East Brookfield | 2% | B | A− | 33 min | $81,042 |
| West Brookfield | 2% | B | D | 42 min | $95,613 |
| New Braintree | under 2% | B+ | D | 37 min | $99,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Brookfield’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 Brookfield: questions
What is the median household income in North Brookfield?
$79,285 (±$10,660) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Brookfield?
12.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Brookfield?
37 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Brookfield work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (16%, 13 mi), Boston (5%, 54 mi), Spencer (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Brookfield walkable?
North Brookfield is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Brookfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Brookfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Brookfield
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.