Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0At 6.9%, unemployment in Salisbury is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Salisbury are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in ten work in Salisbury; the top destination outside it is Newburyport (10%, 3 miles). Household incomes here are higher than in 71% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Salisbury apart
Salisbury makes and builds things
41% of the jobs based in Salisbury are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Salisbury residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. The jobs ↓
Salisbury’s workforce skews older
36% of Salisbury’s working residents are 55 or older. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Salisbury
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salisbury is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #204 of 283 in Massachusetts. The poverty rate holds Salisbury’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salisbury could be anywhere from B− to A.
A place that makes things: 41% of Salisbury’s jobs are in goods
2,977 jobs are based in Salisbury.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salisbury, 2013 → 2023: 2,569 → 2,977. 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 Salisbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Salisbury: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,125 residents head out to work, 446 work right here, and 2,531 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,900 people are in Salisbury on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Commuting out of Salisbury: the destinations
Where Salisbury clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
4% 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.
Commuting from Salisbury: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salisbury workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,963 commuters (the 20% 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.
How many miles Salisbury commutes
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.
Few in Salisbury walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salisbury is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #208 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 14.1% across Massachusetts.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,939 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% 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 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 5.6% of Salisbury households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Salisbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,790 U.S. towns of 6,700 to 12,900, Salisbury comes 1,233rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 26 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,231 | Belle Isle FL | 7,688 | $105K | 11.6% | 5.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,232 | Lowell IN | 11,853 | $84K | 5.5% | 4.9% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,233 | Salisbury MA | 9,530 | $93K | 5.0% | 6.9% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,234 | Alta Sierra CA | 7,361 | $106K | 6.3% | 3.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,235 | Dumbarton VA | 7,997 | $60K | 12.1% | 1.9% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,790 | 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 Salisbury, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door is work for 17% of Salisbury
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salisbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | – | B+ | B− | 28 min | $93,361 |
| Newburyport | 10% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $139,625 |
| Amesbury | 4% | A− | A− | 29 min | $103,554 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Newburyport. Darker towns draw more of Salisbury’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 Salisbury: questions
What is the median household income in Salisbury?
$93,361 (±$5,840) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salisbury?
5.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salisbury?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salisbury work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Newburyport (10%, 3 mi), Boston (9%, 36 mi), Amesbury (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salisbury walkable?
Salisbury is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salisbury without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salisbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salisbury
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.