Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainStoughton has higher household incomes than 80% of U.S. towns
8.4% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. For jobs and income Stoughton is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Stoughton
Stoughton trades workers with the towns around it
Stoughton has about as many jobs (15,679) as working residents (14,892), but they are mostly different people: 13,460 residents leave for work each day while 14,247 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Stoughton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Stoughton draws workers from far and wide
The 15,679 jobs in Stoughton are filled from a wide area. Stoughton’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Stoughton
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Stoughton could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Who leaves Stoughton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 13,460 residents head out to work, 1,432 work right here, and 14,247 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 (1.05 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.
26% of working residents work in Boston
Where Stoughton clocks in
26% 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.
What the 15,679 jobs in Stoughton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stoughton, 2013 → 2023: 11,994 → 15,679. 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 Stoughton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Stoughton, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stoughton workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,229 commuters (the 15% 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 Stoughton 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Stoughton
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,633 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 55% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 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). 6.4% of Stoughton households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Stoughton’s commuters take a bus or train.
474th of 1,366: where Stoughton ranks among U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 37 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 472 | Lysander NY | 23,110 | $108K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 12% | A− |
| 473 | Gardner KS | 26,154 | $97K | 6.3% | 3.8% | 13% | A− |
| 474 | Stoughton MA | 29,845 | $105K | 8.4% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| 475 | West Deptford Township NJ | 22,681 | $94K | 6.9% | 4.4% | 10% | A− |
| 476 | Manlius NY | 32,864 | $113K | 5.6% | 4.2% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Stoughton, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Stoughton
The biggest share goes to Canton (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Stoughton’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 Stoughton: questions
What is the median household income in Stoughton?
$104,794 (±$5,793) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stoughton?
8.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stoughton?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stoughton work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (26%, 16 mi), Brockton (5%, 5 mi), Canton (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Stoughton walkable?
Stoughton is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stoughton without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Stoughton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stoughton
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.