Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0West Springfield Town has higher unemployment (6.0%) than 74% of U.S. towns
10% of workers have no commute at all, next to 19% for Massachusetts as a whole. Jobs and income earn West Springfield Town B−; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven work in West Springfield Town itself; outside it, Springfield draws the most (20%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set West Springfield Town apart
West Springfield Town trades workers with the towns around it
West Springfield Town has about as many jobs (15,531) as working residents (13,158), but they are mostly different people: 11,064 residents leave for work each day while 13,437 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in West Springfield Town are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of West Springfield Town works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders West Springfield Town: Springfield (20%), Westfield (6%) and Holyoke (6%). Next door ↓
Commutes from West Springfield Town are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
Most West Springfield Town residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
Why West Springfield Town gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Springfield Town is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #246 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds West Springfield Town’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Springfield Town could be anywhere from C to B+.
The daily commute in and out of West Springfield Town
On a workday 11,064 residents head out to work, 2,094 work right here, and 13,437 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 (1.18 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From West Springfield Town, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Springfield Town workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,099 commuters (the 10% 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.
How far it is to work from West Springfield Town
About 15% 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.
Commuting out of West Springfield Town: the destinations
Where West Springfield Town clocks in
20% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
Inside West Springfield Town’s 15,531 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Springfield Town, 2013 → 2023: 16,483 → 15,531. 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 Springfield Town’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from West Springfield Town start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 14,619 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 10.9% of West Springfield Town households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Springfield Town’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,033rd of 1,467: where West Springfield Town ranks among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 38 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,031 | Seymour IN | 22,450 | $64K | 15.5% | 2.3% | 38% | B− |
| 1,032 | Port Hueneme CA | 20,987 | $93K | 11.4% | 10.1% | 4% | B− |
| 1,033 | West Springfield Town MA | 28,829 | $69K | 11.9% | 6.0% | 16% | B− |
| 1,034 | Jackson Township IN | 23,633 | $62K | 15.0% | 2.2% | 38% | B− |
| 1,035 | Liberty Triangle FL | 24,888 | $65K | 8.6% | 4.2% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Springfield Town, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
42% of West Springfield Town works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Springfield Town workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Springfield Town | – | B− | B+ | 19 min | $69,371 |
| Agawam Town | 5% | A− | B | 22 min | $85,421 |
| Chicopee | 5% | C+ | A | 21 min | $62,615 |
| Westfield | 6% | B+ | A | 27 min | $87,753 |
| Springfield | 20% | C− | A | 20 min | $52,656 |
| Holyoke | 6% | C− | A | 19 min | $53,605 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of West Springfield Town’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 Springfield Town: questions
What is the median household income in West Springfield Town?
$69,371 (±$7,051) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Springfield Town?
11.9%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Springfield Town?
19 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Springfield Town work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (20%, 6 mi), Westfield (6%, 6 mi), Holyoke (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Springfield Town walkable?
West Springfield Town is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Springfield Town without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Springfield Town, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Springfield Town
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.