Photo: Terageorge · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Reading top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 3.2% of residents, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. For jobs and income Reading is better than 98% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.4 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
The commute and the jobs: Reading in brief
A lot of Reading works from home
30% of Reading workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Reading
77% of Reading residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Reading pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Reading draws workers from far and wide
The 6,955 jobs in Reading are filled from a wide area. Reading’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 60% 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.
Jobs & income in Reading: the grade in detail
Household income is its strongest input ($165,912, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, 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, Reading could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily trip from Reading: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Reading workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,221 commuters (the 30% 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.
What the 6,955 jobs in Reading are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Reading, 2013 → 2023: 7,165 → 6,955. 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 Reading’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in Boston
Where Reading clocks in
23% of workers
6% 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.
Reading on a workday afternoon
On a workday 11,716 residents head out to work, 981 work right here, and 5,974 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Reading on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.55 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.
Miles to work from Reading
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Reading
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 13,217 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 27% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 3.9% of Reading households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Reading’s commuters take a bus or train.
Reading next to U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000: 43rd of 1,576 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| 41 | Solon OH | 23,679 | $139K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 14% | A+ |
| 42 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 43 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| 44 | Cranford Township NJ | 24,725 | $156K | 2.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 45 | Kingstowne VA | 18,360 | $152K | 4.4% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Sharon MA | 18,798 | $192K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Reading, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around Reading
The biggest share goes to Woburn (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Reading workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | – | A+ | A | 31 min | $165,912 |
| North Reading | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 34 min | $147,768 |
| Wakefield | 2% | A | A+ | 33 min | $134,306 |
| Woburn | 5% | B+ | A | 25 min | $111,185 |
| Lynnfield | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 32 min | $175,265 |
| Wilmington | 2% | A | A− | 30 min | $168,152 |
| Stoneham | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $113,964 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Reading’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 Reading: questions
What is the median household income in Reading?
$165,912 (±$12,806) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Reading?
3.2%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Reading?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Reading work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (23%, 15 mi), Cambridge (6%, 11 mi), Woburn (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Reading walkable?
Reading is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Reading without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Reading, from the people who make the trip.
More of Reading
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.