Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Households in Berlin earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 15.3% of residents (New Hampshire 7.2%). The two grades for Berlin are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Home is the office for 4% of workers (New Hampshire 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Berlin at work: what stands out
Commutes from Berlin are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across New Hampshire. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Hampshire worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Berlin workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across New Hampshire. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Berlin
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Berlin is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #126 of 126 in New Hampshire. The poverty rate holds Berlin’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($45,180, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berlin could be anywhere from D− to C.
Getting to work from Berlin takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berlin workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,178 commuters (the 3% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Berlin
About 35% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who commutes out of Berlin, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,472 residents head out to work, 1,193 work right here, and 1,524 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,600 people are in Berlin on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
12% of working residents work in Gorham
Where Berlin clocks in
12% of workers
5% 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.
What the 2,717 jobs in Berlin are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berlin, 2013 → 2023: 3,271 → 2,717. 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 Berlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Berlin gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berlin is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #21 of 126 in New Hampshire. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 7.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,292 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). 12.6% of Berlin households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Berlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 6,700 to 12,800, and where Berlin sits
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Hollis NH | 8,819 | $169K | 1.9% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | Amherst NH | 11,985 | $153K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 263 | Litchfield NH | 8,704 | $162K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,688 | Massena NY | 9,898 | $51K | 24.3% | 6.5% | 31% | D |
| 2,689 | Beverly Hills FL | 9,650 | $46K | 19.8% | 8.9% | 3% | D |
| 2,690 | Berlin NH | 9,502 | $45K | 15.3% | 7.1% | 33% | D |
| 2,691 | Lawrenceburg TN | 12,236 | $42K | 21.5% | 7.8% | 35% | D |
| 2,692 | La Follette TN | 7,176 | $38K | 28.2% | 7.5% | 14% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,764 | 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 Berlin, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Berlin’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Gorham. Darker towns draw more of Berlin’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 Berlin: questions
What is the median household income in Berlin?
$45,180 (±$4,764) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berlin?
15.3%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berlin?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berlin work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gorham (12%, 7 mi), Concord (5%, 88 mi), Conway (4%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berlin walkable?
Berlin is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berlin without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berlin
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.