Paxton’s household incomes are higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 1.4% of residents, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. Jobs and income earn Paxton A; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 4% work in Paxton; the top destination outside it is Worcester (29%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Paxton and work: the main findings
Paxton and Worcester trade workers both ways
Worcester is the top workplace for Paxton residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Paxton come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Paxton is a place people come home to
There are 716 jobs based in Paxton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Paxton has about 3,200 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Paxton
71% of Paxton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Paxton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Paxton pay little
27% of the jobs based in Paxton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
The figures behind Paxton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Paxton is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #88 of 283 in Massachusetts. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Paxton could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Commuting out of Paxton: the destinations
Where Paxton clocks in
29% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Paxton
On a workday 2,415 residents head out to work, 106 work right here, and 610 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Paxton on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.28 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 2023, primary jobs.
In Paxton, services account for most jobs
716 jobs are based in Paxton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paxton, 2013 → 2023: 670 → 716. 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 Paxton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 31 minutes to work from Paxton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Paxton workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,971 commuters (the 26% 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 commute from Paxton, by distance
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.
The commute in Paxton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Paxton is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #179 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,647 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 1.7% of Paxton households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Paxton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Paxton next to U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800: 458th of 3,758 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 456 | Willow Springs IL | 5,788 | $104K | 4.1% | 4.6% | 2% | A |
| 457 | Stacy MN | 4,367 | $98K | 5.2% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| 458 | Paxton MA | 5,046 | $134K | 1.4% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| 459 | Acme Township MI | 4,531 | $110K | 2.5% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| 460 | Deerfield NY | 3,889 | $101K | 6.4% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | 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 Paxton, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Paxton and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Holden (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Paxton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paxton | – | A | B | 31 min | $134,083 |
| Holden | 3% | A− | C− | 27 min | $141,923 |
| Rutland | under 2% | A− | C− | 37 min | $145,707 |
| Spencer | under 2% | C+ | B− | 34 min | $80,533 |
| Leicester | under 2% | A | C+ | 27 min | $105,173 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Paxton’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 Paxton: questions
What is the median household income in Paxton?
$134,083 (±$8,023) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paxton?
1.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paxton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Paxton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (29%, 7 mi), Boston (7%, 47 mi), Holden (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Paxton walkable?
Paxton is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Paxton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Paxton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paxton
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.