Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Walpole top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. Below the poverty line: 3.6% of residents (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income Walpole is better than 90% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Walpole
Walpole draws workers from far and wide
The 10,780 jobs in Walpole are filled from a wide area. Walpole’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A lot of Walpole works from home
28% of Walpole workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Three in four Walpole workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of Walpole’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. The jobs ↓
Walpole 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.
Walpole’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Household income holds Walpole’s grade up ($171,500, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, 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, Walpole could be anywhere from A− to A+.
27% of working residents work in Boston
Where Walpole clocks in
27% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
About 34 minutes to work from Walpole
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Walpole workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,049 commuters (the 28% 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.
67% of the jobs in Walpole pay over $3,333 a month
10,780 jobs are based in Walpole.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Walpole, 2013 → 2023: 10,398 → 10,780. 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 Walpole’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Walpole
On a workday 12,497 residents head out to work, 1,213 work right here, and 9,567 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Walpole on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Walpole
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.
In Walpole, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,000 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 51% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 3.7% of Walpole households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Walpole’s commuters take a bus or train.
Walpole next to U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000: 297th of 1,576 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 295 | New Canaan CT | 21,208 | $250K | 3.7% | 5.2% | 13% | A |
| 296 | Somerset MA | 18,681 | $113K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 12% | A |
| 297 | Walpole MA | 26,237 | $172K | 3.6% | 5.3% | 9% | A |
| 298 | Sugar Grove Township IL | 21,157 | $125K | 4.9% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| 299 | Burlington MA | 26,778 | $146K | 5.9% | 4.4% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Walpole, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Walpole and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Norwood (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Walpole workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walpole | – | A | A | 34 min | $171,500 |
| Norfolk | under 2% | A | B+ | 36 min | $200,720 |
| Sharon | under 2% | A+ | A− | 39 min | $191,835 |
| Westwood | under 2% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $223,125 |
| Norwood | 5% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $107,030 |
| Dover | under 2% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Medfield | under 2% | A+ | A− | 32 min | $235,800 |
| Foxborough | 2% | A− | B+ | 29 min | $115,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Walpole’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 Walpole: questions
What is the median household income in Walpole?
$171,500 (±$15,740) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Walpole?
3.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Walpole?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Walpole work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (27%, 18 mi), Norwood (5%, 4 mi), Cambridge (3%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Walpole walkable?
Walpole is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Walpole without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Walpole, from the people who make the trip.
More of Walpole
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.