Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Nashua’s household incomes are higher than in 74% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 7.8%, next to 7.2% for New Hampshire as a whole. For jobs and income Nashua is better than 75% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in four work in Nashua itself; outside it, Manchester draws the most (7%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Nashua, in brief
The figures behind Nashua’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nashua could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Nashua
On a workday 32,600 residents head out to work, 13,336 work right here, and 36,486 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 (1.08 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Nashua’s residents
Where Nashua clocks in
7% 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.
66% of the jobs in Nashua pay over $3,333 a month
49,822 jobs are based in Nashua.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nashua, 2013 → 2023: 48,103 → 49,822. 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 Nashua’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Nashua: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nashua workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 41,848 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 distance from Nashua to work
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.
Most trips from Nashua start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 50,682 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 3% 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). 7.9% of Nashua households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Nashua’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 65,000 to 125,000, Nashua ranks 155th of 485 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Du Page Township IL | 88,043 | $105K | 8.3% | 5.4% | 14% | A− |
| 154 | Shelby Township MI | 80,415 | $91K | 8.1% | 4.2% | 9% | A− |
| 155 | Nashua NH | 92,435 | $96K | 7.8% | 4.2% | 29% | A− |
| 156 | Plantation FL | 99,183 | $93K | 10.0% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| 157 | Tustin CA | 77,843 | $113K | 9.9% | 5.4% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | Manchester NH | 116,818 | $81K | 11.2% | 3.3% | 36% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 485 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Nashua, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
The towns next door employ 11% of Nashua
The biggest share goes to Merrimack (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Nashua workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashua | – | A− | B+ | 26 min | $96,326 |
| Merrimack | 6% | A+ | C | 27 min | $127,219 |
| Hollis | under 2% | A+ | C | 27 min | $168,883 |
| Hudson | 5% | A− | C+ | 31 min | $124,213 |
| Litchfield | under 2% | A | C | 29 min | $162,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Nashua’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 Nashua: questions
What is the median household income in Nashua?
$96,326 (±$5,040) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nashua?
7.8%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nashua?
26 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 Nashua work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Manchester (7%, 16 mi), Merrimack (6%, 7 mi), Hudson (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nashua walkable?
Nashua is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nashua without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nashua, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nashua
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.