Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainUnemployment in Marlborough (0.4%) is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 21 minutes each way (New Hampshire 27, U.S. 26). For jobs and income Marlborough is better than 50% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (B). Only 4% work in Marlborough; the top destination outside it is Keene (30%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Marlborough
A lot of Marlborough works one town over
44% of working residents work in a town that borders Marlborough: Keene (30%), Jaffrey (6%) and Swanzey (5%). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Marlborough than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Marlborough fell from 443 in 2014 to 292 in 2024, −34%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Marlborough are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 27 across New Hampshire. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Hampshire worker. Time on the road ↓
Marlborough is a place people come home to
There are 292 jobs based in Marlborough, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Marlborough has about 1,500 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Why Marlborough gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Marlborough’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 27% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marlborough could be anywhere from C to B+.
Goods, not services: 31% of the jobs in Marlborough
292 jobs are based in Marlborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marlborough, 2014 → 2024: 443 → 292. 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 Marlborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Marlborough
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marlborough workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 956 commuters (the 12% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Marlborough
On a workday 968 residents head out to work, 40 work right here, and 252 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Marlborough on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.29 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Marlborough work
Where Marlborough clocks in
30% of workers
6% 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.
The commute from Marlborough, by distance
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.
For most of Marlborough, work means a drive
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,090 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). 4.1% of Marlborough households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Marlborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
Marlborough next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 3,000: 2,371st of 5,641 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 179 | Newfields NH | 1,775 | $198K | 2.4% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Mont Vernon NH | 2,698 | $158K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 280 | Hampton Falls NH | 2,379 | $166K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,369 | Pokegama Township MN | 2,884 | $78K | 8.7% | 2.7% | 2% | B− |
| 2,370 | Jackson Township MN | 1,647 | $69K | 17.6% | 0.9% | <1% | B− |
| 2,371 | Marlborough NH | 2,201 | $69K | 13.2% | 0.4% | 4% | B− |
| 2,372 | Agua Dulce CA | 2,828 | $146K | 13.7% | 9.8% | 4% | B− |
| 2,373 | Carter TX | 1,738 | $103K | 19.5% | 3.6% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,641 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Marlborough, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
44% of Marlborough works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marlborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | – | B− | B | 21 min | $69,032 |
| Troy | 3% | B | D | 25 min | $88,871 |
| Swanzey | 5% | B | C+ | 24 min | $81,595 |
| Roxbury | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Dublin | under 2% | B− | A− | 28 min | $104,659 |
| Harrisville | under 2% | B | B+ | 27 min | $103,036 |
| Jaffrey | 6% | B | B− | 25 min | $92,330 |
| Keene | 30% | B | A | 17 min | $78,445 |
Same-state neighbors only. Roxbury: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Keene. Darker towns draw more of Marlborough’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 Marlborough: questions
What is the median household income in Marlborough?
$69,032 (±$8,645) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marlborough?
13.2%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marlborough?
21 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marlborough work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Keene (30%, 8 mi), Jaffrey (6%, 7 mi), Swanzey (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Marlborough walkable?
Marlborough is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marlborough without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marlborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marlborough
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.