Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0A job hub: Waltham has 2.1 jobs per working resident, and 58,420 people come in to work
Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns. Waltham has 64,101 jobs for 30,156 working residents. The two grades for Waltham 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
What stands out about work in Waltham
Waltham is where the jobs are
Waltham has 64,101 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 99,000 people are in town, 52% more than the 65,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Waltham residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Most jobs in Waltham pay over $40,000 a year
80% of the jobs based in Waltham pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Waltham draws workers from far and wide
The 64,101 jobs in Waltham are filled from a wide area. Waltham’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Waltham and Boston trade workers both ways
Boston is the top workplace for Waltham residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Waltham come from (10% of its jobs). 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Waltham
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waltham is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #116 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waltham could be anywhere from A− to A.
How many people are in Waltham by day
On a workday 24,475 residents head out to work and 5,681 work right here.
About 99,000 people are in Waltham on a workday afternoon, 52% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Half of Waltham commutes less than 8 miles
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.
80% of the jobs in Waltham pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waltham, 2013 → 2023: 57,083 → 64,101. 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 Waltham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Waltham’s workforce comes from
Where Waltham clocks in
21% of workers
8% 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.
The daily trip from Waltham: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waltham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 27,894 commuters (the 24% 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.
Waltham is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waltham is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #20 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Waltham 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 36,821 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 93% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 8.6% of Waltham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Waltham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Waltham is 157th among 661 U.S. towns of 46,000 to 88,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Somerville MA | 84,211 | $133K | 9.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Brookline MA | 63,414 | $142K | 8.7% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | East Honolulu HI | 51,360 | $160K | 5.3% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 156 | Franklin Township NJ | 69,105 | $125K | 5.9% | 5.1% | 10% | A |
| 157 | Waltham MA | 65,037 | $120K | 9.4% | 3.7% | 19% | A− |
| 158 | Hoffman Estates IL | 50,858 | $107K | 7.1% | 4.2% | 5% | A− |
| 159 | Grapevine TX | 50,714 | $111K | 6.7% | 4.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 661 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Waltham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work next door: 11% of Waltham’s workers
The biggest share goes to Newton (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waltham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham | – | A− | A+ | 25 min | $120,216 |
| Weston | under 2% | A+ | A− | 27 min | $250,000+ |
| Belmont | 1% | A | A+ | 29 min | $183,137 |
| Newton | 5% | A+ | A+ | 27 min | $190,304 |
| Lincoln | under 2% | A+ | B− | 26 min | $175,117 |
| Watertown | 3% | A− | A+ | 28 min | $126,265 |
| Lexington | 2% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $238,444 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waltham’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 Waltham: questions
What is the median household income in Waltham?
$120,216 (±$7,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waltham?
9.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waltham?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waltham work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (21%, 12 mi), Cambridge (8%, 6 mi), Newton (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waltham walkable?
Waltham is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.2 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waltham without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waltham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waltham
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.