Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Atkinson has higher household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
Only 5% stay in Atkinson for work; outside it, Salem is the main destination (7%, 4 miles). 1.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 7.2% across New Hampshire. The two grades for Atkinson are A for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Atkinson at work: what stands out
No single place dominates Atkinson’s commute
The biggest draw, Salem, gets only 7% of working residents, and 56% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Atkinson residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Atkinson empties out on a workday
About 5,100 people are in Atkinson on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 7,400 who live here: 3,400 head out to work and 1,100 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
Where Atkinson’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Atkinson is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #32 of 126 in New Hampshire. The poverty rate holds Atkinson’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Atkinson could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Where the trip to work from Atkinson ends
Where Atkinson clocks in
6% 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.
How many people are in Atkinson by day
On a workday 3,444 residents head out to work, 197 work right here, and 1,144 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Atkinson on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
Atkinson makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
1,341 jobs are based in Atkinson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Atkinson, 2013 → 2023: 1,028 → 1,341. 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 Atkinson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Atkinson: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Atkinson workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,282 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across New Hampshire: 87% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Atkinson works
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.
Most trips from Atkinson start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Atkinson is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #94 of 126 in New Hampshire. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.6% across New Hampshire.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,161 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 0.6% of Atkinson households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Atkinson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Atkinson is 591st of 3,083 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Auburn NH | 6,336 | $153K | 2.5% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Hollis NH | 8,819 | $169K | 1.9% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Brookline NH | 5,858 | $171K | 0.6% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 589 | Milton WI | 6,024 | $86K | 6.5% | 0.9% | 12% | A |
| 590 | Marrs Township IN | 5,388 | $104K | 7.3% | 0.6% | 4% | A |
| 591 | Atkinson NH | 7,397 | $146K | 1.8% | 5.6% | 5% | A |
| 592 | Steele Creek AK | 5,928 | $121K | 3.3% | 0.5% | — | A |
| 593 | Rolling Hills Estates CA | 7,948 | $192K | 3.2% | 7.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Atkinson, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
Work next door: 18% of Atkinson’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Salem. Darker towns draw more of Atkinson’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 Atkinson: questions
What is the median household income in Atkinson?
$146,380 (±$32,290) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Atkinson?
1.8%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Atkinson?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Atkinson work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salem (7%, 4 mi), Plaistow (6%, 4 mi), Haverhill (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Atkinson walkable?
Atkinson is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Atkinson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Atkinson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Atkinson
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.