Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Milford has lower unemployment (2.6%) than 76% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Milford A; getting around on foot earns it B−. Measured by household income, Milford is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. About one in five work in Milford itself; outside it, Nashua draws the most (15%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Milford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Milford is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #35 of 126 in New Hampshire. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Milford could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Milford on a workday afternoon
On a workday 7,555 residents head out to work, 1,571 work right here, and 5,854 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Milford on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 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 people from Milford work
Where Milford clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 33% of the jobs in Milford
7,425 jobs are based in Milford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milford, 2014 → 2024: 6,169 → 7,425. 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 Milford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Milford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milford workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,435 commuters (the 16% 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 Milford goes to work
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.
Getting around Milford: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Milford is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #59 of 126 in New Hampshire. Both inputs place Milford 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 8,813 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). 3.7% of Milford households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Milford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Milford is 492nd of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 237 | Hooksett NH | 15,346 | $118K | 3.3% | 2.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 244 | Goffstown NH | 18,607 | $114K | 6.4% | 0.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 266 | Durham NH | 15,346 | $124K | 15.1% | 4.3% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 490 | Grandville MI | 17,018 | $78K | 7.3% | 1.6% | 10% | A |
| 491 | Oceola Township MI | 14,888 | $119K | 1.8% | 5.2% | 2% | A |
| 492 | Milford NH | 16,686 | $98K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 17% | A |
| 493 | Ogden NY | 19,940 | $92K | 7.5% | 2.2% | 9% | A |
| 494 | North Fayette Township PA | 16,017 | $102K | 4.0% | 4.3% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Milford, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
The towns around Milford
The biggest share goes to Amherst (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Milford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | – | A | B− | 27 min | $97,768 |
| Amherst | 4% | A | C+ | 33 min | $153,196 |
| Hollis | under 2% | A+ | C | 27 min | $168,883 |
| Lyndeborough | under 2% | A− | C− | 39 min | $116,964 |
| Brookline | under 2% | A+ | C | 33 min | $171,046 |
| Wilton | under 2% | A | C+ | 30 min | $114,349 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Milford’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 Milford: questions
What is the median household income in Milford?
$97,768 (±$14,299) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milford?
3.9%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milford?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Milford work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nashua (15%, 10 mi), Manchester (9%, 16 mi), Merrimack (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Milford walkable?
Milford is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milford without a car?
<1% 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 Milford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milford
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.