Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Springfield has higher unemployment (8.7%) than 91% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Springfield is behind 84% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Springfield C−; getting around on foot earns it A. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 9.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Springfield apart on work
Commutes from Springfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Springfield residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
Why Springfield gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Springfield is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #277 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Springfield’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (25.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Springfield stays C−.
Each way, about 20 minutes from Springfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Springfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 57,205 commuters (the 8% 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 Springfield
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Springfield by day and by night
On a workday 38,383 residents head out to work, 22,501 work right here, and 49,579 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 (1.18 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.
6% of working residents work in Chicopee
Where Springfield clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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 jobs in Springfield are in services
72,080 jobs are based in Springfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 73,504 → 72,080. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Springfield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #48 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Springfield 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 62,440 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 18.2% of Springfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Springfield next to U.S. towns of 108,000 to 209,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Cambridge MA | 122,588 | $131K | 12.8% | 3.4% | 32% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Lowell MA | 119,971 | $79K | 16.9% | 5.7% | 19% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 207 | Rockford IL | 147,384 | $55K | 21.3% | 8.5% | 45% | C− |
| 208 | Akron OH | 189,691 | $48K | 23.3% | 7.8% | 31% | C− |
| 209 | Springfield MA | 154,702 | $53K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 37% | C− |
| 210 | Rochester NY | 206,108 | $47K | 27.8% | 7.9% | 42% | C− |
| 211 | Brownsville TX | 192,957 | $52K | 23.7% | 6.2% | 54% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 222 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Springfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
17% of Springfield works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Chicopee (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Springfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | – | C− | A | 20 min | $52,656 |
| Ludlow | under 2% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $84,838 |
| Chicopee | 6% | C+ | A | 21 min | $62,615 |
| West Springfield Town | 5% | B− | B+ | 19 min | $69,371 |
| Agawam Town | 3% | A− | B | 22 min | $85,421 |
| East Longmeadow | 3% | A | A− | 23 min | $106,676 |
| Longmeadow | under 2% | A− | B+ | 25 min | $149,601 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Springfield’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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$52,656 (±$2,452) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
25.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
20 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicopee (6%, 4 mi), Holyoke (5%, 8 mi), West Springfield Town (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.