Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Manchester has lower unemployment (3.3%) than 65% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Manchester for work; outside it, Nashua is the main destination (6%, 16 miles). Jobs and income earn Manchester B+; getting around on foot earns it A−. Working residents average 24 minutes each way, next to 27 for New Hampshire and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Why Manchester gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Manchester is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #67 of 126 in New Hampshire. Job access by car holds Manchester’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Manchester could be anywhere from B to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Manchester
On a workday 37,057 residents head out to work, 20,023 work right here, and 49,503 people come in from elsewhere.
About 129,000 people are in Manchester on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 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.
Where Manchester goes to work
Where Manchester clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
71% of the jobs in Manchester pay over $3,333 a month
69,526 jobs are based in Manchester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manchester, 2014 → 2024: 61,058 → 69,526. 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 Manchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Manchester: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manchester workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 57,162 commuters (the 14% 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.
How far it is to work from Manchester
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Manchester
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Manchester is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #15 of 126 in New Hampshire. Both inputs place Manchester 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 66,536 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% 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). 7.4% of Manchester households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Manchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Manchester next to U.S. towns of 82,000 to 158,000: 145th of 359 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Nashua NH | 92,435 | $96K | 7.8% | 4.2% | 28% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Santa Monica CA | 90,082 | $115K | 11.2% | 6.7% | 17% | B+ |
| 144 | West Covina CA | 105,301 | $101K | 10.0% | 6.5% | 7% | B+ |
| 145 | Manchester NH | 116,818 | $81K | 11.2% | 3.3% | 35% | B+ |
| 146 | Orem UT | 95,214 | $83K | 10.2% | 3.9% | 21% | B+ |
| 147 | Temecula CA | 114,865 | $121K | 7.3% | 5.7% | 22% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 359 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 52% | 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 Manchester, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
21% of Manchester works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | – | B+ | A− | 24 min | $81,007 |
| Bedford | 6% | A+ | B+ | 25 min | $167,418 |
| Hooksett | 4% | A | B− | 27 min | $117,962 |
| Londonderry | 6% | A | C | 29 min | $132,556 |
| South Hooksett | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Auburn | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 28 min | $153,253 |
| Goffstown | 2% | A | B | 28 min | $113,958 |
| Merrimack | 3% | A+ | C | 27 min | $127,219 |
| Litchfield | under 2% | A | C | 29 min | $162,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. South Hooksett: 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 Bedford. Darker towns draw more of Manchester’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 Manchester: questions
What is the median household income in Manchester?
$81,007 (±$1,990) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manchester?
11.2%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manchester?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manchester work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashua (6%, 16 mi), Londonderry (6%, 8 mi), Bedford (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Manchester walkable?
Manchester is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manchester without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Manchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manchester
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.