Photo: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Barnstead commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Barnstead grades B+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Employers in Barnstead report 380 jobs, against 2,324 working residents. Measured by household income, Barnstead is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Barnstead, in brief
Barnstead is a place people come home to
There are 380 jobs based in Barnstead, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Barnstead has about 3,100 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Barnstead
68% of Barnstead residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Barnstead pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. 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.
The figures behind Barnstead’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Barnstead is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #59 of 126 in New Hampshire. The poverty rate holds Barnstead’s grade up (3.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Barnstead could be anywhere from B− to A.
How a workday changes Barnstead
On a workday 2,188 residents head out to work, 136 work right here, and 244 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Barnstead on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
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 kinds of work in Barnstead
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barnstead, 2013 → 2023: 259 → 380. 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 Barnstead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of working residents work in Concord
Where Barnstead clocks in
18% of workers
5% 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.
Barnstead’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barnstead workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,085 commuters (the 13% 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.
Barnstead’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Barnstead is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Barnstead is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #109 of 126 in New Hampshire. Both inputs place Barnstead 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 2,397 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.5% of Barnstead households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Barnstead’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,758 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800, Barnstead comes 1,111th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Auburn NH | 6,336 | $153K | 2.5% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 150 | Brookline NH | 5,858 | $171K | 0.6% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | North Hampton NH | 4,526 | $146K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,109 | Columbia CT | 5,352 | $127K | 6.1% | 6.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,110 | New London NH | 4,411 | $108K | 0.9% | 3.8% | 22% | B+ |
| 1,111 | Barnstead NH | 5,038 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,112 | Oxford Township PA | 6,089 | $83K | 8.8% | 2.1% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,113 | Puhi HI | 4,362 | $137K | 8.5% | 2.8% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Barnstead, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
The towns around Barnstead
The biggest share goes to Pittsfield (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Barnstead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstead | – | B+ | C− | 31 min | $111,660 |
| Gilmanton | under 3% | B | D | 33 min | $117,088 |
| Alton | 3% | B+ | C− | 33 min | $113,715 |
| Pittsfield | 5% | B− | B− | 27 min | $74,318 |
| Strafford | under 3% | B | C− | 36 min | $122,105 |
| Farmington | under 3% | C | C− | 29 min | $66,943 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Barnstead’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 Barnstead: questions
What is the median household income in Barnstead?
$111,660 (±$11,758) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barnstead?
3.4%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barnstead?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barnstead work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Concord (18%, 17 mi), Pittsfield (5%, 5 mi), Rochester (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Barnstead walkable?
Barnstead is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Barnstead without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Barnstead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barnstead
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.