Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Bow top those of 97% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Bow is better than 89% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (C). The poverty rate is 2.7% (New Hampshire 7.2%). About one in ten work in Bow; the top destination outside it is Concord (24%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Bow, in brief
Bow trades workers with the towns around it
Bow has about as many jobs (4,236) as working residents (4,137), but they are mostly different people: 3,767 residents leave for work each day while 3,866 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Bow are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bow and Concord trade workers both ways
Concord is the top workplace for Bow residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Bow come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Bow pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Bow pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Bow’s grade explained
Household income is its strongest input ($172,857, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bow could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Bow
On a workday 3,767 residents head out to work, 370 work right here, and 3,866 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 (1.02 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.
Where people from Bow work
Where Bow clocks in
24% of workers
17% 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.
Making and building: 31% of jobs based in Bow
4,236 jobs are based in Bow.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bow, 2013 → 2023: 3,420 → 4,236. 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 Bow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Bow: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bow workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,346 commuters (the 23% 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 Bow
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 Bow: mostly by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 4.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,326 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). 5.0% of Bow households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bow’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Bow is 481st among 2,981 U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Auburn NH | 6,336 | $153K | 2.5% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Hollis NH | 8,819 | $169K | 1.9% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 276 | Litchfield NH | 8,704 | $162K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 479 | Fort Belvoir VA | 8,449 | $104K | 2.9% | 4.5% | 3% | A |
| 480 | Lebanon CT | 7,142 | $109K | 4.1% | 2.7% | 8% | A |
| 481 | Bow NH | 8,415 | $173K | 2.7% | 3.7% | 9% | A |
| 482 | West Manheim Township PA | 11,139 | $98K | 2.2% | 2.2% | 3% | A |
| 483 | Mitchellville MD | 11,359 | $149K | 4.1% | 5.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,981 | 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 Bow, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
Work next door: 28% of Bow’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bow workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | – | A | C | 27 min | $172,857 |
| Concord | 24% | B | A− | 23 min | $84,902 |
| Suncook | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Dunbarton | under 2% | A− | C− | 34 min | $124,348 |
| Pembroke | under 2% | B | C− | 25 min | $89,519 |
| Hopkinton | under 2% | A | C | 22 min | $137,477 |
| Hooksett | 4% | A | B− | 27 min | $117,962 |
Same-state neighbors only. Suncook: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Concord. Darker towns draw more of Bow’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 Bow: questions
What is the median household income in Bow?
$172,857 (±$15,561) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bow?
2.7%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bow?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bow work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Concord (24%, 7 mi), Manchester (17%, 11 mi), Bedford (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bow walkable?
Bow is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bow without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bow
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.