Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Madison (7.3%) is higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Madison is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Madison is better than 44% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (C+). 8% of workers have no commute at all, where New Hampshire as a whole has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Madison stands out on work
Madison and Conway trade workers both ways
Conway is the top workplace for Madison residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Madison come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Madison 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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.
The figures behind Madison’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Madison’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madison could be anywhere from C to A−.
27% of working residents work in Conway
Where Madison clocks in
27% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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 Madison takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,097 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where in the region Madison works
About 30% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Madison
On a workday 876 residents head out to work, 136 work right here, and 499 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
What the 635 jobs in Madison are
635 jobs are based in Madison.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 480 → 635. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Madison commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 1,192 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). 1.3% of Madison households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Madison’s commuters take a bus or train.
Madison next to U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700: 2,615th of 4,969 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 250 | Mont Vernon NH | 2,698 | $158K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Hampton Falls NH | 2,379 | $166K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 314 | Kensington NH | 2,092 | $165K | 1.9% | 3.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,613 | Rollin Township MI | 3,020 | $80K | 9.9% | 4.1% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,614 | Tompkins Township MI | 2,641 | $87K | 9.3% | 6.2% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,615 | Madison NH | 2,728 | $103K | 4.7% | 7.3% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,616 | Lanier Township OH | 3,691 | $63K | 8.7% | 5.3% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,617 | Ashville AL | 2,412 | $69K | 19.9% | 2.1% | 7% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Madison, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
Work next door: 31% of Madison’s workers
The biggest share goes to Conway (27%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Madison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | – | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $102,697 |
| Conway | 27% | C− | B− | 21 min | $64,385 |
| Eaton | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Freedom | under 2% | D | C− | 26 min | $66,136 |
| Albany | 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Tamworth | 2% | C+ | B+ | 22 min | $68,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Eaton and Albany: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Madison’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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$102,697 (±$10,515) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
4.7%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Conway (27%, 8 mi), Manchester (3%, 66 mi), Ossipee (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madison walkable?
Madison is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madison without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.