Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Pembroke’s household incomes are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A: better than 93% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #58 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Walkability B: more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns · #204 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Working residents average 35 minutes each way (Massachusetts 29, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Pembroke; the top destination outside it is Boston (12%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Pembroke, in brief
Pembroke 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 ↓
Pembroke draws workers from far and wide
The 6,193 jobs in Pembroke are filled from a wide area. Pembroke’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 55% 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.
What’s behind Pembroke’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pembroke is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #58 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($146,285, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pembroke could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pembroke workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,821 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
12% of working residents work in Boston
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Pembroke clocks in
12% 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.
Pembroke quiets down on a workday
On a workday 8,065 residents head out to work, 787 work right here, and 5,406 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Pembroke on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
Pembroke makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
6,193 jobs are based in Pembroke. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pembroke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pembroke, 2013 → 2023: 5,191 → 6,193. 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.
Half of Pembroke commutes less than 15 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Pembroke start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pembroke is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #204 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,919 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 2.4% of Pembroke households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Pembroke’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pembroke is 246th of 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Pembroke, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 244 | Danville IN | 13,415 | $97K | 3.5% | 2.1% | 15% | A |
| 245 | Scituate MA | 19,662 | $137K | 2.9% | 3.5% | 13% | A |
| 246 | Pembroke MA | 18,492 | $146K | 4.0% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| 247 | Hamburg Township MI | 20,901 | $114K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 5% | A |
| 248 | Niskayuna NY | 24,211 | $137K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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.
10% of Pembroke works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Hanover (4%). Darker towns draw more of Pembroke’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pembroke workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembroke | – | A | B | 35 min | $146,285 |
| Duxbury | under 4% | A | A− | 33 min | $176,583 |
| Norwell | 3% | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $188,699 |
| Hanover | 4% | A− | B | 32 min | $189,803 |
| Hanson | under 4% | A | C+ | 34 min | $132,200 |
| Halifax | under 4% | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $118,556 |
| Marshfield | 3% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $125,986 |
| Kingston | under 4% | A | B− | 35 min | $119,876 |
| Plympton | under 4% | B+ | D | 33 min | $126,736 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Pembroke: questions
What is the median household income in Pembroke?
$146,285 (±$16,854) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pembroke?
4.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pembroke?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pembroke work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (12%, 21 mi), Plymouth (4%, 16 mi), Quincy (4%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pembroke walkable?
Pembroke is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pembroke without a car?
2% 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 Pembroke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pembroke
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.