Vintonville Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Westborough has higher household incomes than 94% of U.S. towns
6.3% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Westborough are A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.4 in Worcester.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Westborough, in brief
Westborough is where the jobs are
Westborough has 21,059 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 35,000 people are in town, 54% more than the 23,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Westborough draws workers from far and wide
The 21,059 jobs in Westborough are filled from a wide area. Westborough’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Westborough’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Westborough is Boston, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (806) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Westborough pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Westborough pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Westborough
27% of Westborough workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
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 Westborough gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westborough is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #108 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Westborough’s grade up ($141,944, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, 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, Westborough could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Westborough
On a workday 7,554 residents head out to work, 1,216 work right here, and 19,843 people come in from elsewhere.
About 35,000 people are in Westborough on a workday afternoon, 54% more than live here.
2.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Westborough’s workers come from
Where Westborough clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
Half of Westborough commutes less than 14 miles
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.
76% of the jobs in Westborough pay over $3,333 a month
21,059 jobs are based in Westborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westborough, 2013 → 2023: 20,955 → 21,059. 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 Westborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Westborough: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westborough workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,274 commuters (the 27% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Westborough
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westborough is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #116 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Westborough near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,260 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 20% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 5.4% of Westborough households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Westborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000, Westborough ranks 401st of 1,712 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 399 | Lynbrook NY | 20,855 | $137K | 7.5% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 400 | Herndon VA | 25,506 | $148K | 8.1% | 4.1% | 6% | A |
| 401 | Westborough MA | 22,894 | $142K | 6.3% | 4.3% | 14% | A |
| 402 | Delran Township NJ | 18,909 | $107K | 3.5% | 5.2% | 6% | A |
| 403 | Temescal Valley CA | 30,069 | $122K | 4.5% | 4.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Westborough, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work in the towns next to Westborough
The biggest share goes to Southborough (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westborough | – | A | A− | 29 min | $141,944 |
| Hopkinton | 2% | A+ | B+ | 36 min | $222,801 |
| Northborough | 2% | A | B | 31 min | $153,199 |
| Grafton | under 3% | A | B | 33 min | $131,484 |
| Southborough | 3% | A | A | 32 min | $196,808 |
| Shrewsbury | under 3% | A+ | B+ | 31 min | $139,302 |
| Cordaville | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Upton | under 3% | A− | C | 35 min | $155,508 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cordaville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westborough’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 Westborough: questions
What is the median household income in Westborough?
$141,944 (±$12,497) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westborough?
6.3%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westborough?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westborough work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (9%, 31 mi), Worcester (8%, 10 mi), Framingham (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westborough walkable?
Westborough is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westborough without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westborough
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.