Photo: Andrew Sawyer · CC BY 2.5With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Strafford works elsewhere
The two grades for Strafford are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Strafford has 383 jobs, and 1,861 of its residents work somewhere. Measured by household income, Strafford is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Strafford: the gist
Strafford workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 27 across New Hampshire. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Strafford is a place people come home to
There are 383 jobs based in Strafford, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Strafford has about 2,900 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Strafford’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Strafford is Portsmouth, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (238) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Strafford makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Strafford are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Strafford residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Strafford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Strafford is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #90 of 126 in New Hampshire. Household income holds Strafford’s grade up ($122,105, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 15% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Strafford could be anywhere from C to A−.
Strafford’s commute takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Strafford workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,986 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Strafford
On a workday 1,737 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 259 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Strafford on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from Strafford
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.
Goods, not services: 38% of the jobs in Strafford
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Strafford, 2013 → 2023: 353 → 383. 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 Strafford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
13% of working residents work in Portsmouth
Where Strafford clocks in
13% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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 in Strafford is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Strafford is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns, #114 of 126 in New Hampshire. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 4.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,361 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). 1.2% of Strafford households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Strafford’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,853rd of 4,136: where Strafford ranks among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Brookline NH | 5,858 | $171K | 0.6% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | North Hampton NH | 4,526 | $146K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Greenland NH | 4,143 | $163K | 0.5% | 2.3% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,851 | Goshen Township OH | 3,647 | $74K | 11.0% | 3.4% | 9% | B |
| 1,852 | Ossian IN | 3,448 | $72K | 6.7% | 4.8% | 9% | B |
| 1,853 | Strafford NH | 4,338 | $122K | 8.0% | 4.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,854 | Stanley NC | 4,237 | $75K | 8.1% | 5.8% | 3% | B |
| 1,855 | Bowling Township IL | 3,366 | $101K | 5.8% | 12.9% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Strafford, the top three, the last and three more from New Hampshire.
15% of Strafford works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Rochester (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Strafford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strafford | – | B | C− | 36 min | $122,105 |
| Farmington | under 3% | C | C− | 29 min | $66,943 |
| Barnstead | under 3% | B+ | C− | 31 min | $111,660 |
| Barrington | 2% | A− | C− | 30 min | $110,323 |
| Northwood | 5% | B | B− | 37 min | $129,375 |
| Rochester | 8% | B+ | B | 26 min | $80,836 |
| Pittsfield | under 3% | B− | B− | 27 min | $74,318 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Strafford’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 Strafford: questions
What is the median household income in Strafford?
$122,105 (±$22,144) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Strafford?
8.0%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Strafford?
36 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 Strafford work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portsmouth (13%, 25 mi), Dover (9%, 16 mi), Rochester (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Strafford walkable?
Strafford is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Strafford 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 Strafford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Strafford
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.