Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Wenham have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 29% of workers, where Massachusetts as a whole has 19%. 3.7% of residents are in poverty (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income Wenham is better than 98% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Wenham
Many jobs in Wenham pay little
44% of the jobs based in Wenham pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 46% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Wenham
67% of Wenham residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Wenham pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 86% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Wenham is services
92% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Wenham
29% of Wenham workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Wenham has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Wenham went from 1,039 in 2013 to 1,518 in 2023, +46%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Wenham
Household income is its strongest input ($194,781, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Wenham could be anywhere from A to A+.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Wenham
1,518 jobs are based in Wenham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wenham, 2013 → 2023: 1,039 → 1,518. 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 Wenham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Wenham, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wenham workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,771 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.
Wenham by day and by night
On a workday 1,752 residents head out to work, 283 work right here, and 1,235 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Wenham on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.75 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.
22% of working residents work in Boston
Where Wenham clocks in
22% of workers
9% 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.
How many miles Wenham commutes
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.
Wenham is a driving town
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 15.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,510 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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 Wenham households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Wenham’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Wenham ranks: 119th of 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Scioto Township OH | 4,169 | $159K | 3.6% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| 118 | Narberth PA | 4,479 | $124K | 1.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 119 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| 120 | Auburn NH | 6,336 | $153K | 2.5% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 121 | Clayton WI | 5,303 | $134K | 3.2% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Avon MA | 4,861 | $131K | 4.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wenham, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Wenham and its neighbors: 15% work next door
The biggest share goes to Beverly (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wenham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wenham | – | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $194,781 |
| Topsfield | under 2% | A+ | A− | 28 min | $195,718 |
| Beverly | 9% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $106,044 |
| Danvers | 4% | A | A | 28 min | $125,395 |
| Hamilton | 2% | A | B+ | 32 min | $129,833 |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | under 2% | A− | A | 30 min | $206,389 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wenham’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 Wenham: questions
What is the median household income in Wenham?
$194,781 (±$32,680) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wenham?
3.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wenham?
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 Wenham work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (22%, 20 mi), Beverly (9%, 4 mi), Danvers (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wenham walkable?
Wenham is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wenham without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wenham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wenham
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.