Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Households in Westford have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Westford are A for jobs and income and B for walkability. Poverty touches 3.2% of residents; Massachusetts has 10.0%. 27% of workers have no commute at all; Massachusetts has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Westford
Westford trades workers with the towns around it
Westford has about as many jobs (11,137) as working residents (12,041), but they are mostly different people: 10,751 residents leave for work each day while 9,847 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Westford are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
77% of Westford’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 73% of the jobs based in Westford. The jobs ↓
Westford draws workers from far and wide
The 11,137 jobs in Westford are filled from a wide area. Westford’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Westford’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Westford is Boston, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (1,293) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Westford
27% of Westford 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.
The figures behind Westford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westford is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #70 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Westford’s grade up ($187,198, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, 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, Westford could be anywhere from A− to A+.
In and out of Westford on a workday
On a workday 10,751 residents head out to work, 1,290 work right here, and 9,847 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 (0.92 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.
73% of the jobs in Westford pay over $3,333 a month
11,137 jobs are based in Westford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westford, 2013 → 2023: 10,321 → 11,137. 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 Westford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
11% of working residents work in Boston
Where Westford clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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 commute from Westford, by distance
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 from Westford: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westford workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,356 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.
In Westford, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westford is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #203 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Westford 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 12,808 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 8% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 1.3% of Westford households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Westford’s commuters take a bus or train.
259th of 1,688: where Westford ranks among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 34,000
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 257 | Farmington MN | 25,425 | $124K | 5.1% | 3.4% | 10% | A |
| 258 | Avon CT | 19,096 | $154K | 4.8% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| 259 | Westford MA | 24,853 | $187K | 3.2% | 4.8% | 11% | A |
| 260 | Norton MA | 19,559 | $125K | 4.7% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| 261 | Bel Air North MD | 31,302 | $137K | 3.5% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,688 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Westford, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Westford and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Chelmsford (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westford | – | A | B | 31 min | $187,198 |
| Chelmsford | 4% | A | A− | 28 min | $140,629 |
| Littleton | under 3% | A | B+ | 33 min | $149,722 |
| Groton | under 3% | A− | B+ | 32 min | $192,958 |
| Carlisle | under 3% | A+ | B− | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Tyngsborough | under 3% | A− | C− | 24 min | $129,348 |
| Acton | under 3% | A | A− | 35 min | $158,230 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westford’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 Westford: questions
What is the median household income in Westford?
$187,198 (±$10,347) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westford?
3.2%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westford?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westford work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (11%, 28 mi), Lowell (5%, 7 mi), Burlington (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westford walkable?
Westford is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westford without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westford
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.