Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Webster (7.7%) is higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
8% of workers work from home, next to 19% for Massachusetts as a whole. For jobs and income Webster is better than 38% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in ten work in Webster itself; outside it, Worcester draws the most (18%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Webster’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Webster’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Webster could be anywhere from C to B.
The daily flow of workers through Webster
On a workday 7,815 residents head out to work, 1,029 work right here, and 4,989 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Webster on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
Out of Webster to work: where people go
Where Webster clocks in
18% 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.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Webster
6,018 jobs are based in Webster.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Webster, 2013 → 2023: 5,809 → 6,018. 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 Webster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 31 minutes each way, about the MA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Webster workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,998 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Webster’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Few in Webster walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 8,689 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 50% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 10.4% of Webster households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Webster’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,547th of 2,103: where Webster ranks among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Sharon MA | 18,798 | $192K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,545 | Winder GA | 21,252 | $64K | 13.2% | 5.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,546 | Pottstown PA | 23,322 | $61K | 17.5% | 5.1% | 11% | C+ |
| 1,547 | Webster MA | 17,835 | $73K | 12.7% | 7.7% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,548 | Speedway IN | 14,373 | $60K | 17.5% | 5.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,549 | Alexandria MN | 15,045 | $61K | 12.0% | 3.6% | 56% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Webster, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around Webster
The biggest share goes to Dudley (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Webster’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 Webster: questions
What is the median household income in Webster?
$72,895 (±$5,958) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Webster?
12.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Webster?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Webster work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (18%, 15 mi), Boston (5%, 47 mi), Oxford (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Webster walkable?
Webster is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Webster without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Webster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Webster
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.