Mount Vernon Cemetery · Photo: Pvmoutside · CC BY-SA 3.0West Boylston has higher household incomes than 80% of U.S. towns
6.6% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. Jobs and income earn West Boylston A−; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 6% stay in West Boylston for work; outside it, Worcester is the main destination (22%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets West Boylston apart on work
West Boylston trades workers with the towns around it
West Boylston has about as many jobs (3,945) as working residents (3,707), but they are mostly different people: 3,469 residents leave for work each day while 3,707 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in West Boylston are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
West Boylston and Worcester trade workers both ways
Worcester is the top workplace for West Boylston residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in West Boylston come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind West Boylston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Boylston is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #164 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds West Boylston’s grade up ($104,551, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, 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, West Boylston could be anywhere from B to A+.
The daily flow of workers through West Boylston
On a workday 3,469 residents head out to work, 238 work right here, and 3,707 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 (1.06 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of West Boylston to work: where people go
Where West Boylston 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.
The 3,945 jobs based in West Boylston
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Boylston, 2014 → 2024: 3,450 → 3,945. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Boylston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, quicker than most of Massachusetts
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Boylston workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,927 commuters (the 18% 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.
The distance from West Boylston to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in West Boylston walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Boylston is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #191 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 3,555 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 36% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 5.0% of West Boylston households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Boylston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, West Boylston is 881st among 3,069 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 92 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 879 | Ottawa Township OH | 8,047 | $90K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 26% | A− |
| 880 | Scotia NY | 7,295 | $77K | 4.9% | 3.2% | 4% | A− |
| 881 | West Boylston MA | 7,923 | $105K | 6.6% | 4.6% | 6% | A− |
| 882 | Jefferson Township OH | 8,927 | $82K | 7.9% | 2.9% | 10% | A− |
| 883 | West Greenwich RI | 6,750 | $136K | 2.3% | 7.4% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 West Boylston, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 25% of West Boylston
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Boylston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Boylston | – | A− | B | 25 min | $104,551 |
| Boylston | under 2% | A | C | 27 min | $140,962 |
| Sterling | 1% | A− | B+ | 34 min | $129,063 |
| Shrewsbury | 2% | A+ | B+ | 31 min | $139,302 |
| Holden | under 2% | A− | C− | 27 min | $141,923 |
| Worcester | 22% | C+ | A+ | 24 min | $70,102 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Worcester. Darker towns draw more of West Boylston’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 2024, 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 West Boylston: questions
What is the median household income in West Boylston?
$104,551 (±$12,361) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Boylston?
6.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Boylston?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Boylston work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (22%, 7 mi), Boston (9%, 40 mi), Marlborough (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Boylston walkable?
West Boylston is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Boylston without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Boylston, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Boylston
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.