Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Stow top those of 98% of U.S. towns
5.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Stow are A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 37% of workers (Massachusetts 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Stow
Home offices are common in Stow
37% of Stow workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Stow’s commute
The biggest draw, Boston, gets only 8% of working residents, and 58% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Stow residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Stow workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Stow pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Stow pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Stow’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Stow is Boston, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (261) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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 Stow gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Stow is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #77 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($185,809, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. 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, Stow could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Commuting from Stow: about 36 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stow workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,425 commuters (the 37% 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.
8% of working residents work in Boston
Where Stow clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
Stow works in goods: 28% of its jobs
1,747 jobs are based in Stow.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stow, 2013 → 2023: 1,795 → 1,747. 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 Stow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Stow’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The daily commute in and out of Stow
On a workday 3,093 residents head out to work, 131 work right here, and 1,616 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Stow on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
Stow is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Stow is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #220 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,825 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.2% of Stow households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Stow’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Stow ranks: 413th of 3,122 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 89 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 411 | Park City UT | 8,587 | $134K | 6.5% | 0.8% | 42% | A |
| 412 | Jackson WI | 8,322 | $93K | 6.0% | 1.5% | 5% | A |
| 413 | Stow MA | 7,248 | $186K | 5.2% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 414 | Aiea HI | 9,087 | $140K | 5.3% | 3.8% | 2% | A |
| 415 | Temple GA | 6,564 | $91K | 2.6% | 1.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,122 | 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 Stow, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door to Stow
The biggest share goes to Hudson (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Stow workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stow | – | A | B− | 36 min | $185,809 |
| Hudson | 3% | A− | A− | 31 min | $103,400 |
| Maynard | under 3% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $124,067 |
| Boxborough | under 3% | A | B | 30 min | $144,611 |
| Acton | under 3% | A | A− | 35 min | $158,230 |
| Sudbury | under 3% | A | B+ | 35 min | $236,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Stow’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 Stow: questions
What is the median household income in Stow?
$185,809 (±$22,387) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stow?
5.2%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stow?
36 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 37% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stow work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (8%, 26 mi), Waltham (7%, 14 mi), Cambridge (4%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Stow walkable?
Stow is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stow without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Stow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stow
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.