Photo: RedSoxFan274 · CC BY-SA 3.0Wakefield’s household incomes are higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston. 4.9% of residents live below the poverty line (Massachusetts 10.0%). Wakefield grades 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
What the numbers say about work in Wakefield
Wakefield trades workers with the towns around it
Wakefield has about as many jobs (13,334) as working residents (14,065), but they are mostly different people: 12,766 residents leave for work each day while 12,035 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Wakefield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Wakefield draws workers from far and wide
The 13,334 jobs in Wakefield are filled from a wide area. Wakefield’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Wakefield’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 73% of the jobs based in Wakefield. The jobs ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Wakefield: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wakefield is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #73 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Wakefield’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wakefield could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Wakefield by day and by night
On a workday 12,766 residents head out to work, 1,299 work right here, and 12,035 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 (0.95 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.
24% of working residents work in Boston
Where Wakefield clocks in
24% 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.
73% of the jobs in Wakefield pay over $3,333 a month
13,334 jobs are based in Wakefield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakefield, 2013 → 2023: 13,662 → 13,334. 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 Wakefield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Wakefield: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakefield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,540 commuters (the 25% 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 far it is to work from Wakefield
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Wakefield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wakefield is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #41 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Wakefield 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 15,302 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 3.9% of Wakefield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Wakefield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000, Wakefield ranks 212th of 1,467 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 38 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 210 | Westford MA | 24,853 | $187K | 3.2% | 4.8% | 11% | A |
| 211 | Bel Air North MD | 31,302 | $137K | 3.5% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| 212 | Wakefield MA | 29,234 | $134K | 4.9% | 4.4% | 9% | A |
| 213 | Springfield Township PA | 21,030 | $136K | 4.1% | 4.8% | 7% | A |
| 214 | Ladera Ranch CA | 23,793 | $184K | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | 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 Wakefield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Wakefield
The biggest share goes to Melrose (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakefield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | – | A | A+ | 33 min | $134,306 |
| Lynnfield | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 32 min | $175,265 |
| Saugus | under 2% | A | A | 30 min | $101,539 |
| Reading | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $165,912 |
| Stoneham | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $113,964 |
| Melrose | 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $133,953 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wakefield’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 Wakefield: questions
What is the median household income in Wakefield?
$134,306 (±$13,946) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakefield?
4.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakefield?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakefield work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (24%, 12 mi), Cambridge (6%, 9 mi), Woburn (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wakefield walkable?
Wakefield is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wakefield without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wakefield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakefield
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.