Colburn School-High Street Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Westwood’s household incomes are among the highest in the country
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Below the poverty line: 4.6% of residents (Massachusetts 10.0%). Jobs and income earn Westwood A+; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Westwood and work: the main findings
Westwood is where the jobs are
Westwood has 13,890 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
78% of Westwood’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 Westwood. The jobs ↓
Westwood and Boston trade workers both ways
Boston is the top workplace for Westwood residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Westwood come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Westwood draws workers from far and wide
The 13,890 jobs in Westwood are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 32%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Westwood has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Westwood went from 9,309 in 2014 to 13,890 in 2024, +49%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Westwood earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westwood is among the top U.S. towns, #4 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($223,125, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westwood could be anywhere from A to A+.
How a workday changes Westwood
On a workday 7,053 residents head out to work, 559 work right here, and 13,331 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Westwood on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
1.8 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 2024, primary jobs.
73% of the jobs in Westwood pay over $3,333 a month
13,890 jobs are based in Westwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westwood, 2014 → 2024: 9,309 → 13,890. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Westwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Westwood
Where Westwood clocks in
31% of workers
4% 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.
About 30 minutes each way for Westwood’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westwood workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,844 commuters (the 25% 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.
Half of Westwood commutes less than 11 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Westwood is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westwood is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #99 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 8.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,798 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 17% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 4.0% of Westwood households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Westwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Westwood is 24th among 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| 23 | Dayton MN | 11,402 | $149K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 24 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 25 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 26 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Westwood, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Westwood and its neighbors: 11% work next door
The biggest share goes to Norwood (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westwood | – | A+ | A− | 30 min | $223,125 |
| Walpole | under 3% | A | A | 34 min | $171,500 |
| Canton | 2% | A | A | 36 min | $143,381 |
| Norwood | 4% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $107,030 |
| Dedham | 3% | A | A | 29 min | $128,955 |
| Needham | 2% | A | A+ | 28 min | $214,308 |
| Dover | under 3% | A− | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westwood’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 2024, 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 Westwood: questions
What is the median household income in Westwood?
$223,125 (±$33,149) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westwood?
4.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westwood?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westwood work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (31%, 13 mi), Cambridge (4%, 12 mi), Norwood (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Westwood walkable?
Westwood is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westwood without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.