District No. 9 Schoolhouse · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Gilford (1.3%) is lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Gilford is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Gilford is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in seven work in Gilford itself; outside it, Laconia draws the most (18%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Gilford: the gist
Gilford trades workers with the towns around it
Gilford has about as many jobs (3,330) as working residents (3,412), but they are mostly different people: 2,882 residents leave for work each day while 2,800 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Gilford are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Gilford and Laconia trade workers both ways
Laconia is the top workplace for Gilford residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Gilford come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Gilford are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across New Hampshire. That’s about 38 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 2024, 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 Gilford
Unemployment holds Gilford’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gilford could be anywhere from B to A.
How a workday changes Gilford
On a workday 2,882 residents head out to work, 530 work right here, and 2,800 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 (0.98 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Gilford commutes to
Where Gilford clocks in
18% of workers
9% 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.
Getting to work from Gilford takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gilford workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,094 commuters (the 17% 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.
The kinds of work in Gilford
3,330 jobs are based in Gilford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gilford, 2014 → 2024: 2,629 → 3,330. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gilford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Gilford
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Gilford is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 3,725 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). 2.9% of Gilford households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Gilford’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Gilford ranks: 810th of 3,069 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Auburn NH | 6,336 | $153K | 2.5% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Hollis NH | 8,819 | $169K | 1.9% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Brookline NH | 5,858 | $171K | 0.6% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 808 | Bogota NJ | 9,816 | $103K | 4.6% | 7.1% | 3% | A− |
| 809 | Lisbon ME | 9,919 | $78K | 5.3% | 1.8% | 11% | A− |
| 810 | Gilford NH | 7,898 | $117K | 6.2% | 1.3% | 16% | A− |
| 811 | Hebron KY | 6,407 | $107K | 10.0% | 3.2% | 6% | A− |
| 812 | Valley Center KS | 7,685 | $77K | 3.6% | 3.5% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Gilford, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
The towns next door employ 25% of Gilford
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gilford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilford | – | A− | C− | 22 min | $116,635 |
| Meredith | 3% | B− | A− | 26 min | $87,019 |
| Alton | under 2% | B+ | C− | 33 min | $113,715 |
| Laconia | 18% | B− | B+ | 17 min | $73,218 |
| Belmont | 4% | B− | B− | 25 min | $69,063 |
| Gilmanton | under 2% | B | D | 33 min | $117,088 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Laconia. Darker towns draw more of Gilford’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 2024, 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 Gilford: questions
What is the median household income in Gilford?
$116,635 (±$11,098) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gilford?
6.2%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gilford?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gilford work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Laconia (18%, 7 mi), Concord (9%, 22 mi), Manchester (4%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Gilford walkable?
Gilford is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gilford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gilford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gilford
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.