Photo: Bob Burkhardt · CC BY 3.0Households in Shirley have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
9.9% of residents live below the poverty line, where Massachusetts as a whole has 10.0%. Jobs and income earn Shirley B+; getting around on foot earns it B−. Only 6% work in Shirley; the top destination outside it is Boston (9%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Shirley in brief
Shirley trades workers with the towns around it
Shirley has about as many jobs (2,775) as working residents (3,101), but they are mostly different people: 2,910 residents leave for work each day while 2,584 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Shirley are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Shirley workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (28 to 36 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Shirley’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Shirley is Boston, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (267) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Shirley pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Shirley pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Shirley’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shirley is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #202 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Shirley’s grade up ($122,365, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shirley could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Shirley
On a workday 2,910 residents head out to work, 191 work right here, and 2,584 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Shirley takes about 40 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shirley workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,288 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Shirley goes to work
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.
28% of the jobs in Shirley make or build things
2,775 jobs are based in Shirley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shirley, 2013 → 2023: 2,132 → 2,775. 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 Shirley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Shirley: the destinations
Where Shirley clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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.
Most of Shirley commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shirley is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #207 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,896 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 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 3.3% of Shirley households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Shirley’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,260th of 3,205: where Shirley ranks among U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 88 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,258 | Litchfield Beach SC | 9,044 | $76K | 8.5% | 1.6% | 16% | B+ |
| 1,259 | Schuyler NE | 6,800 | $80K | 6.8% | 1.6% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,260 | Shirley MA | 7,189 | $122K | 9.9% | 5.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,261 | Robinson Township MI | 6,475 | $99K | 4.2% | 6.9% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,262 | Hudsonville MI | 7,964 | $91K | 8.3% | 5.4% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | 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 Shirley, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Shirley and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Ayer (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shirley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirley | – | B+ | B− | 40 min | $122,365 |
| Groton | under 3% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $192,958 |
| Ayer | 5% | B | A | 33 min | $101,875 |
| Devens | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Harvard | 3% | A− | B | 32 min | $213,996 |
| Lunenburg | under 3% | A− | B | 36 min | $112,828 |
Same-state neighbors only. Devens: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shirley’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 Shirley: questions
What is the median household income in Shirley?
$122,365 (±$16,320) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shirley?
9.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shirley?
40 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shirley work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (9%, 36 mi), Ayer (5%, 3 mi), Leominster (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shirley walkable?
Shirley is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shirley without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shirley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shirley
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.