Photo: Daderot at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Swampscott have higher incomes than those in 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Swampscott A−; getting around on foot earns it A+. 7.1% of residents are in poverty, where Massachusetts as a whole has 10.0%. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.7 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
Work and commuting in Swampscott, in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Swampscott
74% of Swampscott residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Swampscott pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A lot of Swampscott works from home
27% of Swampscott workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Swampscott workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The figures behind Swampscott’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Swampscott is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #160 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Swampscott’s grade up ($134,386, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Swampscott could be anywhere from B to A+.
The 3,140 jobs based in Swampscott
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Swampscott, 2013 → 2023: 2,614 → 3,140. 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 Swampscott’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 34 minutes in Swampscott
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Swampscott workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,562 commuters (the 27% 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.
Swampscott on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,053 residents head out to work, 527 work right here, and 2,613 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Swampscott on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.48 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.
25% of working residents work in Boston
Where Swampscott clocks in
25% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
How far Swampscott’s workers travel
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.
Swampscott is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Swampscott is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #18 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Swampscott 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 7,642 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 56% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 5.6% of Swampscott households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 16% of Swampscott’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Swampscott is 688th among 1,969 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 686 | Raymond NH | 11,050 | $105K | 6.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A− |
| 687 | North Mankato MN | 14,165 | $81K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 19% | A− |
| 688 | Swampscott MA | 15,183 | $134K | 7.1% | 6.1% | 8% | A− |
| 689 | Fairview Township PA | 11,494 | $112K | 4.9% | 3.7% | 12% | A− |
| 690 | South Miami FL | 13,660 | $95K | 10.0% | 3.6% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,969 | 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 Swampscott, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Bordering towns draw 18% of Swampscott’s workers
The biggest share goes to Lynn (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Swampscott workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swampscott | – | A− | A+ | 34 min | $134,386 |
| Salem | 6% | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,153 |
| Lynn | 8% | B | A+ | 32 min | $75,043 |
| Marblehead | 4% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $182,132 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Swampscott’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 Swampscott: questions
What is the median household income in Swampscott?
$134,386 (±$22,662) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Swampscott?
7.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Swampscott?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Swampscott work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (25%, 11 mi), Lynn (8%, 4 mi), Salem (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Swampscott walkable?
Swampscott is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.6 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Swampscott without a car?
16% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 56% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Swampscott, from the people who make the trip.
More of Swampscott
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.