Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Worcester has higher unemployment (6.5%) than 78% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 47.9 in Boston. Jobs and income earn Worcester C+; getting around on foot earns it A+. About one in three stay in Worcester for work; outside it, Boston is the main destination (6%, 41 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Worcester at work: what stands out
Inside Worcester’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Worcester is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #262 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Worcester’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.6%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Worcester could be anywhere from C to C+.
From Worcester, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Worcester workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 89,625 commuters (the 12% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Worcester
On a workday 50,773 residents head out to work, 29,203 work right here, and 69,373 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 (1.23 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.
The towns that employ Worcester’s residents
Where Worcester clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
In Worcester, services account for most jobs
98,576 jobs are based in Worcester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Worcester, 2013 → 2023: 90,897 → 98,576. 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 Worcester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Worcester goes to work
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.
In Worcester, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Worcester is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #36 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Worcester 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 101,324 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 16.1% of Worcester households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Worcester’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Worcester places 91st of 123 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 150,000 to 289,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Chattanooga TN | 194,144 | $65K | 19.1% | 5.4% | 67% | C+ |
| 90 | Knoxville TN | 202,021 | $54K | 20.2% | 4.5% | 52% | C+ |
| 91 | Worcester MA | 213,862 | $70K | 19.6% | 6.5% | 37% | C+ |
| 92 | Fort Wayne IN | 275,203 | $61K | 16.0% | 5.6% | 60% | C+ |
| 93 | Lubbock TX | 273,071 | $61K | 18.9% | 5.2% | 72% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Springfield MA | 154,702 | $53K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 37% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Worcester, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Next door to Worcester
The biggest share goes to Shrewsbury (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Worcester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | – | C+ | A+ | 24 min | $70,102 |
| Shrewsbury | 3% | A+ | B+ | 31 min | $139,302 |
| Auburn | 2% | A | B | 26 min | $116,711 |
| Millbury | under 2% | A | B− | 29 min | $118,790 |
| West Boylston | under 2% | A− | B | 25 min | $104,551 |
| Grafton | under 2% | A | B | 33 min | $131,484 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Worcester’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 Worcester: questions
What is the median household income in Worcester?
$70,102 (±$2,389) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Worcester?
19.6%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Worcester?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Worcester work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (6%, 41 mi), Marlborough (3%, 14 mi), Framingham (3%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Worcester walkable?
Worcester is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Worcester without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Worcester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Worcester
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.