Twin Lights Historic District-Cape Ann Light Station · Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY-SA 3.0At 8.4%, unemployment in Rockport is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. The two grades for Rockport are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by household income, Rockport is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Rockport and work: the main findings
Rockport and Gloucester trade workers both ways
Gloucester is the top workplace for Rockport residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Rockport come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Rockport’s workforce skews older
41% of Rockport’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. 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.
Inside Rockport’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rockport is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #237 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Rockport’s grade up ($96,250, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockport could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
18% of working residents work in Gloucester
Where Rockport clocks in
18% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
65% of the jobs in Rockport pay over $3,333 a month
928 jobs are based in Rockport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockport, 2013 → 2023: 913 → 928. 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 Rockport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Rockport by day and by night
On a workday 2,452 residents head out to work, 399 work right here, and 529 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Rockport on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
Time on the road from Rockport: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockport workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,477 commuters (the 22% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Rockport
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.
Rockport is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rockport is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #76 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Rockport 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 3,175 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 7.7% of Rockport households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Rockport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockport places 1,680th of 3,164 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 87 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,678 | Vine Grove KY | 7,018 | $73K | 11.1% | 3.5% | 2% | B− |
| 1,679 | Red Lion PA | 6,523 | $73K | 16.0% | 3.1% | 6% | B− |
| 1,680 | Rockport MA | 7,126 | $96K | 6.3% | 8.4% | 14% | B− |
| 1,681 | Bellefonte PA | 5,862 | $63K | 13.1% | 0.7% | 11% | B− |
| 1,682 | Deerfield Township MI | 5,802 | $72K | 8.9% | 2.0% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,164 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Rockport, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door is work for 18% of Rockport
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockport | – | B− | A | 30 min | $96,250 |
| Gloucester | 18% | B− | A+ | 24 min | $83,883 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Gloucester. Darker towns draw more of Rockport’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 Rockport: questions
What is the median household income in Rockport?
$96,250 (±$15,271) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockport?
6.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockport?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockport work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gloucester (18%, 4 mi), Boston (11%, 31 mi), Beverly (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockport walkable?
Rockport is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockport without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockport
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.