Dana Common Historic and Archaeological District · Public domainWith 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Petersham works elsewhere
There are 124 jobs in Petersham; 641 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Petersham is better than 55% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (D). Measured by household income, Petersham is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Petersham, in a few figures
Petersham is a place people come home to
There are 124 jobs based in Petersham, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Petersham has about 730 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Petersham’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Petersham is Worcester, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (52) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Petersham workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (23 to 31 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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; with 641 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Petersham’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Household income holds Petersham’s grade up ($110,750, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (4.3%) is left out: Petersham’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Petersham could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Petersham on a workday afternoon
On a workday 595 residents head out to work, 46 work right here, and 78 people come in from elsewhere.
About 730 people are in Petersham on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
How far Petersham goes to work
About 17% 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.
About 39 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Petersham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 459 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.
Commuting out of Petersham: the destinations
Where Petersham clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
What Petersham’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Petersham, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 124. 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 Petersham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Petersham commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 548 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). 2.4% of Petersham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Petersham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Petersham is 1,425th among 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 383 | Whately MA | 1,622 | $117K | 5.4% | 4.7% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 464 | Otis MA | 1,610 | $109K | 1.2% | 6.2% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 515 | Westhampton MA | 1,618 | $100K | 6.5% | 7.7% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,423 | Martindale TX | 1,298 | $78K | 13.4% | 4.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,424 | Gholson TX | 1,274 | $78K | 7.4% | 3.7% | 1% | B |
| 1,425 | Petersham MA | 1,242 | $111K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 7% | B |
| 1,426 | Burgettstown PA | 1,390 | $53K | 5.7% | 6.6% | 3% | B |
| 1,427 | Aurora UT | 1,062 | $91K | 4.6% | 1.2% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Petersham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around Petersham
The biggest share goes to Athol (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Petersham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petersham | – | B | D | 39 min | $110,750 |
| New Salem | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 23 min | $79,688 |
| Hardwick | under 2% | C+ | C | 31 min | $75,000 |
| Ware | under 2% | C | B+ | 28 min | $67,475 |
| Phillipston | under 2% | B− | B− | 29 min | $94,692 |
| Athol | 7% | C− | A | 27 min | $69,316 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Petersham’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 Petersham: questions
What is the median household income in Petersham?
$110,750 (±$20,440) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Petersham?
8.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Petersham?
39 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Petersham work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (8%, 25 mi), Athol (7%, 8 mi), Barre (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Petersham walkable?
Petersham is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Petersham without a car?
0% 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 Petersham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Petersham
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.