Photo: Srodegast · Public domainHousehold incomes in West Tisbury are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 32% of workers, against 19% across Massachusetts. 3.6% of residents are in poverty (Massachusetts 10.0%). For jobs and income West Tisbury is better than 56% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from West Tisbury, in brief
Commutes from West Tisbury are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 29 across Massachusetts. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Massachusetts worker. Time on the road ↓
West Tisbury trades workers with the towns around it
West Tisbury has about as many jobs (947) as working residents (1,039), but they are mostly different people: 814 residents leave for work each day while 722 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in West Tisbury are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in West Tisbury
32% of West Tisbury workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in West Tisbury pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in West Tisbury pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
A lot of West Tisbury works one town over
27% of working residents work in a town that borders West Tisbury: Tisbury (10%), Edgartown (9%) and Chilmark (8%). Next door ↓
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.
The four measures behind West Tisbury’s grade
Household income holds West Tisbury’s grade up ($182,750, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Tisbury could be anywhere from C to A.
The trip to work from West Tisbury: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Tisbury workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 951 commuters (the 32% 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.
Who leaves West Tisbury for work, and who comes in
On a workday 814 residents head out to work, 225 work right here, and 722 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 (0.91 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.
76% of the jobs in West Tisbury pay over $3,333 a month
947 jobs are based in West Tisbury.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Tisbury, 2013 → 2023: 1,010 → 947. 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 Tisbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
13% of working residents work in Oak Bluffs
Where West Tisbury clocks in
13% of workers
9% 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 Tisbury
About 28% 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.
In West Tisbury, the car does most of the work
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 1,405 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 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 0.0% of West Tisbury households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Tisbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Tisbury is 1,834th of 4,210 U.S. towns of 2,600 to 4,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Avon MA | 4,861 | $131K | 4.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 160 | Princeton MA | 3,618 | $159K | 4.2% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,832 | Lamar Township PA | 2,653 | $92K | 8.6% | 3.5% | 10% | B |
| 1,833 | Ponderosa Park CO | 3,453 | $132K | 5.4% | 6.7% | 2% | B |
| 1,834 | West Tisbury MA | 3,645 | $183K | 3.6% | 6.1% | 22% | B |
| 1,835 | Walpole NH | 3,706 | $83K | 11.7% | 1.1% | 17% | B |
| 1,836 | Glen NY | 2,649 | $84K | 16.4% | 0.1% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,210 | 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 Tisbury, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
West Tisbury and its neighbors: 27% work next door
The biggest share goes to Tisbury (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Tisbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Tisbury | – | B | B− | 17 min | $182,750 |
| Chilmark | 8% | B+ | A+ | 32 min | $168,750 |
| Edgartown | 9% | B | A+ | 12 min | $125,236 |
| Tisbury | 10% | B | A+ | 21 min | $74,113 |
| Gosnold | under 1% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Gosnold: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Tisbury’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 Tisbury: questions
What is the median household income in West Tisbury?
$182,750 (±$73,369) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Tisbury?
3.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Tisbury?
17 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Tisbury work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oak Bluffs (13%, 7 mi), Tisbury (10%, 6 mi), Edgartown (9%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Tisbury walkable?
West Tisbury is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Tisbury without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Tisbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Tisbury
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.