Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Bethlehem has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
31% of workers have no commute at all, against 17% across New Hampshire. There are 506 jobs in Bethlehem; 1,058 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Bethlehem C; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Bethlehem apart on work
A lot of Bethlehem works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Bethlehem: Littleton (21%), Franconia (12%) and Carroll (5%). Next door ↓
Home offices are common in Bethlehem
31% of Bethlehem workers work from home, against 17% across New Hampshire. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Bethlehem are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across New Hampshire. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Hampshire worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How Bethlehem earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bethlehem is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #117 of 126 in New Hampshire. Household income holds Bethlehem’s grade up ($85,029, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bethlehem could be anywhere from D to B+.
Time on the road from Bethlehem: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bethlehem workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 781 commuters (the 31% 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.
In and out of Bethlehem on a workday
On a workday 948 residents head out to work, 110 work right here, and 396 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Bethlehem on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
21% of working residents work in Littleton
Where Bethlehem clocks in
21% of workers
12% 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.
What Bethlehem’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 402 → 506. 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 Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Bethlehem goes to work
About 25% 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.
Getting around Bethlehem: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bethlehem is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #50 of 126 in New Hampshire. Both inputs place Bethlehem 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 1,135 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.1% of Bethlehem households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bethlehem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,083 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500, Bethlehem comes 3,537th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 253 | Mont Vernon NH | 2,698 | $158K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 281 | Hampton Falls NH | 2,379 | $166K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 321 | Kensington NH | 2,092 | $165K | 1.9% | 3.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,535 | Greenville NH | 2,029 | $72K | 13.7% | 7.7% | 3% | C |
| 3,536 | Vermontville Township MI | 1,961 | $70K | 14.8% | 2.6% | 2% | C |
| 3,537 | Bethlehem NH | 2,575 | $85K | 10.1% | 7.3% | 10% | C |
| 3,538 | Home Garden CA | 1,806 | $56K | 15.0% | 13.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,539 | Kiln MS | 2,016 | $72K | 18.2% | 5.8% | 9% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Bethlehem, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
Bordering towns draw 42% of Bethlehem’s workers
The biggest share goes to Littleton (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bethlehem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | – | C | B− | 20 min | $85,029 |
| Carroll | 5% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Littleton | 21% | C | A | 14 min | $56,746 |
| Franconia | 12% | C+ | B+ | 20 min | $87,292 |
| Whitefield | 2% | C | C+ | 26 min | $63,125 |
| Sugar Hill | 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Hart's Location | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Carroll, Sugar Hill and Hart's Location: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bethlehem’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 Bethlehem: questions
What is the median household income in Bethlehem?
$85,029 (±$17,781) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bethlehem?
10.1%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bethlehem?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bethlehem work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Littleton (21%, 11 mi), Franconia (12%, 6 mi), Carroll (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bethlehem walkable?
Bethlehem is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bethlehem without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bethlehem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bethlehem
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.