Photo: Vinnyanabg · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Wilmington top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Wilmington grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 3.8% of residents are in poverty; Massachusetts has 10.0%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Wilmington
Wilmington is where the jobs are
Wilmington has 21,772 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Wilmington draws workers from far and wide
The 21,772 jobs in Wilmington are filled from a wide area. Wilmington’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Wilmington’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 80% of the jobs based in Wilmington. The jobs ↓
Wilmington makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Wilmington are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Wilmington residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 14%. The jobs ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Wilmington
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wilmington is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #64 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Wilmington’s grade up ($168,152, 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, Wilmington could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who works in Wilmington, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 11,212 residents head out to work, 1,352 work right here, and 20,420 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33,000 people are in Wilmington on a workday afternoon, 39% more than live here.
1.7 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.
Who travels to work in Wilmington, and from where
Where Wilmington clocks in
18% 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.
Wilmington makes things: 38% of its jobs are in goods
21,772 jobs are based in Wilmington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wilmington, 2013 → 2023: 18,145 → 21,772. 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 Wilmington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 30 minutes in Wilmington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wilmington workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,081 commuters (the 20% 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 Wilmington
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.
Wilmington is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wilmington is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #123 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Wilmington 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 12,561 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 24% 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 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 4.2% of Wilmington households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Wilmington’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Wilmington is 202nd of 1,577 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 32,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Hingham MA | 24,481 | $178K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Reading MA | 25,803 | $166K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 200 | Ridgefield CT | 25,373 | $179K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 20% | A |
| 201 | Southbury CT | 20,468 | $113K | 3.4% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| 202 | Wilmington MA | 23,629 | $168K | 3.8% | 4.8% | 11% | A |
| 203 | North Potomac MD | 23,922 | $187K | 5.3% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| 204 | Sugar Creek Township IN | 18,299 | $101K | 5.6% | 2.0% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,577 | 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 Wilmington, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Work next door: 18% of Wilmington’s workers
The biggest share goes to Woburn (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wilmington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | – | A | A− | 30 min | $168,152 |
| Billerica | 3% | A | A− | 27 min | $148,200 |
| Andover | 3% | A | A | 29 min | $172,606 |
| Burlington | 4% | A | A | 28 min | $146,436 |
| North Reading | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 34 min | $147,768 |
| Tewksbury | 2% | A | B+ | 30 min | $128,061 |
| Reading | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $165,912 |
| Woburn | 6% | B+ | A | 25 min | $111,185 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wilmington’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 Wilmington: questions
What is the median household income in Wilmington?
$168,152 (±$19,029) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wilmington?
3.8%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wilmington?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wilmington work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (18%, 18 mi), Woburn (6%, 5 mi), Cambridge (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wilmington walkable?
Wilmington is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wilmington without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wilmington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wilmington
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.