Fred Holland Day House · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Norwood top those of 82% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Norwood A−; getting around on foot earns it A+. The poverty rate is 8.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.6 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
Work and commuting in Norwood, in brief
Norwood draws workers from far and wide
The 19,866 jobs in Norwood are filled from a wide area. Norwood’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Norwood pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Norwood pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Norwood
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwood is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #134 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norwood could be anywhere from B+ to A.
25% of working residents work in Boston
Where Norwood clocks in
25% of workers
4% 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.
73% of the jobs in Norwood pay over $3,333 a month
19,866 jobs are based in Norwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwood, 2013 → 2023: 22,940 → 19,866. 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 Norwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Norwood by day
On a workday 14,143 residents head out to work, 1,862 work right here, and 18,004 people come in from elsewhere.
About 36,000 people are in Norwood on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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.
About 30 minutes each way for Norwood’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwood workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,593 commuters (the 16% 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.
Norwood’s commute, mile by mile
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 Norwood, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwood is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #42 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Norwood 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 17,386 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 7.1% of Norwood households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Norwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Norwood is 407th of 1,368 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 38 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 405 | Mountlake Terrace WA | 25,430 | $108K | 7.0% | 4.2% | 3% | A− |
| 406 | Marshfield MA | 26,826 | $126K | 8.7% | 3.1% | 15% | A− |
| 407 | Norwood MA | 31,714 | $107K | 8.8% | 3.6% | 12% | A− |
| 408 | Warminster Township PA | 33,254 | $96K | 7.2% | 3.7% | 9% | A− |
| 409 | Pleasant Hill CA | 34,017 | $145K | 7.3% | 4.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,368 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Norwood, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Norwood
The biggest share goes to Canton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Norwood’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 Norwood: questions
What is the median household income in Norwood?
$107,030 (±$11,136) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwood?
8.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwood?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwood work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (25%, 14 mi), Newton (4%, 10 mi), Cambridge (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwood walkable?
Norwood is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwood without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwood
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.