Photo: D-Day · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Boston commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Only 7% work in Boston itself; outside it, Buffalo draws the most (19%, 17 miles). Boston has 1,047 jobs; 3,788 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Boston is better than 79% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Boston
Commutes from Boston are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Boston
65% of Boston residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Boston pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Boston pay little
30% of the jobs based in Boston pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 39% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Boston is a place people come home to
There are 1,047 jobs based in Boston, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Boston has about 5,100 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Boston has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Boston went from 736 in 2013 to 1,047 in 2023, +42%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Boston earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.9%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Boston could be anywhere from B to A.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Boston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boston workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,924 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What Boston’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boston, 2013 → 2023: 736 → 1,047. 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 Boston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Boston
On a workday 3,541 residents head out to work, 247 work right here, and 800 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Boston on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
The towns that employ Boston’s residents
Where Boston clocks in
19% of workers
12% 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.
Miles to work from Boston
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 Boston 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 4,289 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 17% 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 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 1.4% of Boston households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Boston’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Boston ranks: 821st of 3,026 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lawrence NY | 6,847 | $170K | 3.5% | 3.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Irvington NY | 6,533 | $173K | 1.6% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 16 | Kings Point NY | 5,710 | $211K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 819 | Johnsburg IL | 6,445 | $121K | 12.1% | 2.7% | 5% | A− |
| 820 | Washington Terrace UT | 9,075 | $80K | 6.5% | 2.5% | 4% | A− |
| 821 | Boston NY | 7,879 | $92K | 4.9% | 3.7% | 7% | A− |
| 822 | Liberty Township OH | 7,179 | $101K | 7.5% | 2.4% | 4% | A− |
| 823 | Riverdale Park MD | 7,343 | $120K | 17.7% | 2.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,026 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Boston, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Work next door: 21% of Boston’s workers
The biggest share goes to Hamburg (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | – | A− | C− | 24 min | $92,482 |
| Orchard Park | 9% | A− | B− | 22 min | $109,876 |
| Colden | under 3% | A− | D | 26 min | $97,935 |
| Eden | under 3% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $97,262 |
| Hamburg | 12% | B+ | A− | 23 min | $88,651 |
| Concord | under 3% | B | C+ | 27 min | $78,594 |
| North Collins | under 3% | A− | C | 25 min | $100,270 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Boston’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 Boston: questions
What is the median household income in Boston?
$92,482 (±$15,592) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boston?
4.9%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boston?
24 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boston work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (19%, 17 mi), Hamburg (12%, 8 mi), Orchard Park (9%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boston walkable?
Boston is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boston without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boston
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.