Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Norwell earn more than those in 98% of U.S. towns
27% of workers work from home, where Massachusetts as a whole has 19%. 2.7% of residents are in poverty, where Massachusetts as a whole has 10.0%. Norwell grades A+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Norwell stands out on work
Norwell is where the jobs are
Norwell has 8,851 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Norwell’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 72% of the jobs based in Norwell. The jobs ↓
Norwell workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Norwell
27% of Norwell workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Norwell draws workers from far and wide
The 8,851 jobs in Norwell are filled from a wide area. Norwell’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 36%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Norwell’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwell is among the top U.S. towns, #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Norwell’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norwell stays A+.
How a workday changes Norwell
On a workday 4,880 residents head out to work, 518 work right here, and 8,333 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Norwell on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
72% of the jobs in Norwell pay over $3,333 a month
8,851 jobs are based in Norwell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwell, 2013 → 2023: 7,968 → 8,851. 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 Norwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 35 minutes from Norwell
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwell workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,119 commuters (the 27% 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.
Commuting in to Norwell: where workers come from
Where Norwell clocks in
28% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Half of Norwell commutes less than 17 miles
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.
In Norwell, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwell is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #166 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,654 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 Norwell households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Norwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
34th of 2,695: where Norwell ranks among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| 33 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 34 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 35 | Francisville KY | 10,565 | $159K | 1.7% | 1.3% | 5% | A+ |
| 36 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Boxford MA | 8,520 | $201K | 3.1% | 3.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Norwell, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
How Norwell compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hingham (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norwell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwell | – | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $188,699 |
| Hanover | 3% | A− | B | 32 min | $189,803 |
| Marshfield | under 2% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $125,986 |
| North Pembroke | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Pembroke | under 2% | A | B | 35 min | $146,285 |
| Marshfield Hills | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Scituate | under 2% | A | A | 38 min | $136,732 |
| Hingham | 4% | A+ | A+ | 36 min | $178,390 |
| Rockland | 2% | A− | A− | 33 min | $112,405 |
Same-state neighbors only. North Pembroke and Marshfield Hills: 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 Norwell’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 Norwell: questions
What is the median household income in Norwell?
$188,699 (±$24,745) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwell?
2.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwell?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwell work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (28%, 15 mi), Quincy (5%, 12 mi), Hingham (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwell walkable?
Norwell is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwell without a car?
6% 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 Norwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwell
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.