Falmouth draws about half of Woods Hole’s working residents
Only 5% stay in Woods Hole for work; outside it, Falmouth is the main destination (48%, 6 miles). The average commute takes 22 minutes each way, next to 29 for Massachusetts and 26 for the U.S. Woods Hole has 1,034 jobs for 253 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Woods Hole in brief
Woods Hole has far more jobs than workers
Woods Hole has 1,034 jobs, 4.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,800 people are in town, 79% more than the 990 who live here. Day and night ↓
Woods Hole’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Woods Hole is Boston, 58 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (21) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Woods Hole than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Woods Hole fell from 2,224 in 2014 to 1,034 in 2024, −54%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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; with 253 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily commute in and out of Woods Hole
On a workday 241 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 1,022 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Woods Hole on a workday afternoon, 79% more than live here.
4.1 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.
How far Woods Hole goes to work
About 26% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Woods Hole
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Woods Hole, 2014 → 2024: 2,224 → 1,034. 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 Woods Hole’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Woods Hole’s workers come from
Where Woods Hole clocks in
48% of workers
8% 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 22 minutes each way for Woods Hole’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Woods Hole workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 316 commuters (the 16% 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 Woods Hole compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Woods Hole workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woods Hole | – | — | — | 22 min | $71,724 |
| Gosnold | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Gosnold: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Woods Hole’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 Woods Hole: questions
What is the median household income in Woods Hole?
$71,724 (±$9,259) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Woods Hole?
5.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Woods Hole?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Woods Hole work?
5% work in town.
Can you get around Woods Hole without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Woods Hole, from the people who make the trip.
More of Woods Hole
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.