Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Somerset are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Somerset; the top destination outside it is Fall River (19%, 4 miles). Poverty touches 4.9% of residents (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income Somerset is better than 90% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Somerset
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Somerset
Household income is its strongest input ($112,677, 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, Somerset could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting out of Somerset: the destinations
Where Somerset clocks in
19% of workers
4% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Somerset
On a workday 7,094 residents head out to work, 951 work right here, and 3,697 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Somerset on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.58 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.
What Somerset’s employers do
4,648 jobs are based in Somerset.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Somerset, 2013 → 2023: 4,361 → 4,648. 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 Somerset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Somerset, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Somerset workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,130 commuters (the 12% 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 Somerset 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.
Driving is how Somerset gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 9,235 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 22% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 3.8% of Somerset households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Somerset’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Somerset is 337th among 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 335 | South Plainfield NJ | 24,891 | $130K | 3.0% | 5.6% | 10% | A |
| 336 | New Canaan CT | 21,208 | $250K | 3.7% | 5.2% | 13% | A |
| 337 | Somerset MA | 18,681 | $113K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 12% | A |
| 338 | Metuchen NJ | 15,363 | $158K | 3.6% | 5.8% | 6% | A |
| 339 | Monroe OH | 15,880 | $105K | 4.5% | 3.2% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Somerset, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Bordering towns draw 23% of Somerset’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Somerset workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | – | A | B− | 31 min | $112,677 |
| Swansea | 4% | A | B− | 26 min | $116,364 |
| Dighton | under 2% | A | C− | 31 min | $136,646 |
| Fall River | 19% | C | A | 26 min | $56,673 |
| Freetown | under 2% | A | C+ | 32 min | $143,884 |
| Berkley | under 2% | A | D | 27 min | $144,205 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fall River. Darker towns draw more of Somerset’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 Somerset: questions
What is the median household income in Somerset?
$112,677 (±$6,344) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Somerset?
4.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Somerset?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Somerset work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fall River (19%, 4 mi), New Bedford (4%, 13 mi), Taunton (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Somerset walkable?
Somerset is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Somerset without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Somerset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Somerset
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.