Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Topsfield earn more than those in 98% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston. Poverty touches 7.5% of residents, next to 10.0% for Massachusetts as a whole. The two grades for Topsfield are A+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Topsfield: the gist
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Topsfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Topsfield is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #25 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($195,718, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate 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, Topsfield could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Time on the road from Topsfield: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Topsfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,339 commuters (the 29% 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.
In and out of Topsfield on a workday
On a workday 2,586 residents head out to work, 152 work right here, and 1,600 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Topsfield on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
18% of working residents work in Boston
Where Topsfield clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
In Topsfield, 29% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
1,752 jobs are based in Topsfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Topsfield, 2013 → 2023: 2,068 → 1,752. 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 Topsfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Topsfield
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: Topsfield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Topsfield is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #110 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 7.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,311 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 23% 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 1.9% of Topsfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Topsfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Topsfield places 176th of 3,283 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 81 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Addis LA | 7,679 | $108K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 175 | Bronxville NY | 6,504 | $216K | 4.6% | 3.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 176 | Topsfield MA | 6,626 | $196K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 177 | East Marlborough Township PA | 7,924 | $156K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| 178 | Delano MN | 7,788 | $110K | 4.0% | 1.9% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 Topsfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Topsfield and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Danvers (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Topsfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topsfield | – | A+ | A− | 28 min | $195,718 |
| Boxford | under 2% | A+ | B− | 31 min | $200,871 |
| Hamilton | under 2% | A | B+ | 32 min | $129,833 |
| Middleton | under 2% | A | C+ | 30 min | $167,402 |
| Wenham | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $194,781 |
| Danvers | 5% | A | A | 28 min | $125,395 |
| Ipswich | 3% | A | A− | 29 min | $138,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Topsfield’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 Topsfield: questions
What is the median household income in Topsfield?
$195,718 (±$15,683) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Topsfield?
7.5%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Topsfield?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Topsfield work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (18%, 22 mi), Beverly (6%, 8 mi), Danvers (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Topsfield walkable?
Topsfield is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Topsfield 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 Topsfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Topsfield
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.