Old Centre Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Winchendon has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C−: better than 22% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #275 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns · #160 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Household incomes here are higher than in 50% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 32 minutes each way (Massachusetts 29, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Winchendon; the top destination outside it is Gardner (9%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Winchendon
What’s behind Winchendon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Winchendon is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #275 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Winchendon’s grade up ($75,690, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Winchendon could be anywhere from D to C+.
Winchendon quiets down on a workday
On a workday 4,279 residents head out to work, 509 work right here, and 1,023 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,400 people are in Winchendon on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.32 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
9% of working residents work in Gardner
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Winchendon clocks in
9% of workers
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 1,532 jobs in Winchendon are
1,532 jobs are based in Winchendon. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Winchendon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Winchendon, 2013 → 2023: 1,653 → 1,532. 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.
About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Massachusetts
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Winchendon workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,113 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Winchendon commutes less than 22 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 15% 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.
Most trips from Winchendon start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Winchendon is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #160 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Winchendon 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 4,631 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 6.7% of Winchendon households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Winchendon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Winchendon is 2,429th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Winchendon, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,427 | Aliquippa PA | 9,002 | $50K | 22.9% | 6.8% | 9% | C− |
| 2,428 | Liberty TX | 9,133 | $54K | 25.2% | 4.2% | 12% | C− |
| 2,429 | Winchendon MA | 10,620 | $76K | 18.5% | 6.7% | 11% | C− |
| 2,430 | Maryville MO | 10,092 | $53K | 24.4% | 2.7% | 46% | C− |
| 2,431 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County MT | 9,709 | $58K | 16.3% | 3.4% | 41% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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.
13% of Winchendon works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Gardner (9%). Darker towns draw more of Winchendon’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Winchendon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winchendon | – | C− | B+ | 32 min | $75,690 |
| Gardner | 9% | C | A | 31 min | $67,518 |
| Royalston | under 2% | B− | D− | 38 min | $102,109 |
| Templeton | 2% | C+ | C+ | 28 min | $101,154 |
| Ashburnham | under 2% | B+ | C | 32 min | $118,809 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Winchendon: questions
What is the median household income in Winchendon?
$75,690 (±$13,643) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Winchendon?
18.5%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Winchendon?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Winchendon work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gardner (9%, 7 mi), Fitchburg (6%, 13 mi), Leominster (6%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Winchendon walkable?
Winchendon is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Winchendon without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Winchendon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Winchendon
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.