Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Taunton has 0.8 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B−: better than 50% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #241 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns · #132 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Household incomes here are higher than in 55% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 29 minutes each way (Massachusetts 29, U.S. 26). About one in seven work in Taunton; the top destination outside it is Boston (11%, 30 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.8 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 5.3 in New Bedford (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Taunton
Taunton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Taunton is Boston, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (3,273) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Taunton draws workers from far and wide
The 24,079 jobs in Taunton are filled from a wide area. Taunton’s own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 57% 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.
What’s behind Taunton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Taunton is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #241 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Taunton’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Taunton could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Half of Taunton commutes less than 17 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
11% of working residents work in Boston
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Taunton clocks in
11% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 24,786 residents head out to work, 4,727 work right here, and 19,352 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 (0.82 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.
69% of the jobs in Taunton pay over $3,333 a month
24,079 jobs are based in Taunton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Taunton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Taunton, 2013 → 2023: 21,476 → 24,079. 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.
About 29 minutes each way, about the MA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Taunton workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 27,910 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.
Taunton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Taunton is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #132 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 30,348 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 65% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% 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). 9.5% of Taunton households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Taunton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Taunton is 486th of 704 U.S. towns of 44,000 to 84,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Taunton, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Brookline MA | 63,414 | $142K | 8.7% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Medford MA | 59,834 | $130K | 7.6% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 484 | Southfield MI | 76,111 | $68K | 10.3% | 6.9% | 11% | B− |
| 485 | Pinellas Park FL | 52,295 | $63K | 12.9% | 4.6% | 13% | B− |
| 486 | Taunton MA | 62,522 | $79K | 13.0% | 5.8% | 16% | B− |
| 487 | Missoula MT | 78,903 | $70K | 11.8% | 3.8% | 72% | B− |
| 488 | Oshkosh WI | 67,460 | $62K | 17.5% | 2.8% | 42% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 704 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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.
Taunton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Raynham (4%). Darker towns draw more of Taunton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Taunton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taunton | – | B− | A− | 29 min | $79,283 |
| Raynham | 4% | A− | A− | 36 min | $124,012 |
| Dighton | under 2% | A | C− | 31 min | $136,646 |
| Berkley | under 2% | A | D | 27 min | $144,205 |
| Middleborough | 2% | B+ | B | 31 min | $97,056 |
| Lakeville | under 2% | A | B+ | 33 min | $133,984 |
| North Lakeville | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Norton | under 2% | A | A− | 33 min | $124,535 |
| Rehoboth | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 30 min | $138,214 |
Same-state neighbors only. North Lakeville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Taunton: questions
What is the median household income in Taunton?
$79,283 (±$6,517) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Taunton?
13.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Taunton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Taunton work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (11%, 30 mi), Brockton (5%, 13 mi), Raynham (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Taunton walkable?
Taunton is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Taunton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Taunton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Taunton
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.