Photo: Richard B. Johnson · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of West Brookfield works elsewhere
About one in ten work in West Brookfield; the top destination outside it is Worcester (10%, 18 miles). 792 jobs are based in West Brookfield for 1,773 working residents. West Brookfield grades B for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where West Brookfield stands out on work
West Brookfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (28 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside West Brookfield
67% of West Brookfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 49% of the jobs based in West Brookfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in West Brookfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Brookfield is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #233 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds West Brookfield’s grade up ($95,613, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Brookfield could be anywhere from C to A.
Time on the road from West Brookfield: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Brookfield workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,393 commuters (the 19% 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.
What West Brookfield’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Brookfield, 2013 → 2023: 815 → 792. 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 West Brookfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
West Brookfield on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,600 residents head out to work, 173 work right here, and 619 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in West Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer 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.
The places West Brookfield commutes to
Where West Brookfield clocks in
10% of workers
6% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from West Brookfield
About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Driving is how West Brookfield gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Brookfield is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #277 of 283 in Massachusetts. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,718 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.5% of West Brookfield households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Brookfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,885th of 4,084: where West Brookfield ranks among U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,300
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Avon MA | 4,861 | $131K | 4.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,883 | Randolph VT | 4,958 | $77K | 7.7% | 2.3% | 36% | B |
| 1,884 | Mary Esther FL | 4,093 | $77K | 6.3% | 5.6% | 2% | B |
| 1,885 | West Brookfield MA | 3,947 | $96K | 8.5% | 5.8% | 10% | B |
| 1,886 | Forest Township MI | 4,354 | $71K | 6.4% | 3.7% | 4% | B |
| 1,887 | Northfield MA | 2,857 | $103K | 6.8% | 4.6% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,084 | 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 West Brookfield, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around West Brookfield
The biggest share goes to Ware (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Brookfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Brookfield | – | B | D | 42 min | $95,613 |
| Warren | under 2% | C+ | D | 33 min | $66,082 |
| Brookfield | under 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $81,250 |
| Ware | 4% | C | B+ | 28 min | $67,475 |
| New Braintree | under 2% | B+ | D | 37 min | $99,500 |
| North Brookfield | under 2% | B− | C− | 37 min | $79,285 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Brookfield’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 West Brookfield: questions
What is the median household income in West Brookfield?
$95,613 (±$11,952) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Brookfield?
8.5%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Brookfield?
42 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Brookfield work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (10%, 18 mi), Boston (6%, 59 mi), Spencer (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Brookfield walkable?
West Brookfield is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Brookfield without a car?
0% 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 West Brookfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Brookfield
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.