Photo: Brian McGuirk · CC BY-SA 2.0Barrington has higher household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Barrington A+; getting around on foot earns it A. 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line; Rhode Island has 11.2%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.2 in Providence.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Barrington
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Barrington’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 30 minutes, longer than the Rhode Island average of 26. Time on the road ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Barrington averages 30 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (23 to 25 minutes). Next door ↓
Most Barrington residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Barrington
22% of Barrington workers work from home, against 13% across Rhode Island. Time on the road ↓
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 Barrington
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Barrington is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #1 of 38 in Rhode Island. Household income is its strongest input ($153,198, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Barrington could be anywhere from A to A+.
Commuting from Barrington: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barrington workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,606 commuters (the 22% who work from home are left out). Across Rhode Island: 83% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Barrington
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.
The daily flow of workers through Barrington
On a workday 6,138 residents head out to work, 739 work right here, and 2,305 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Barrington on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.44 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 2023, primary jobs.
27% of working residents work in Providence
Where Barrington clocks in
27% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
3,044 jobs are based in Barrington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barrington, 2013 → 2023: 2,935 → 3,044. 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 Barrington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Barrington is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Barrington is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #14 of 38 in Rhode Island. Both inputs place Barrington 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 8,481 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 43% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 2.2% of Barrington households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Barrington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000, Barrington comes 114th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Millburn Township NJ | 22,874 | $250K | 3.0% | 4.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 113 | Silver Spring Township PA | 21,670 | $125K | 4.6% | 1.7% | 12% | A+ |
| 114 | Barrington RI | 16,961 | $153K | 4.5% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| 115 | Mililani Mauka HI | 21,278 | $139K | 3.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 116 | St. Michael MN | 22,498 | $131K | 3.2% | 2.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | East Greenwich RI | 14,790 | $177K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 197 | North Smithfield RI | 12,990 | $109K | 4.8% | 2.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 395 | Portsmouth RI | 17,474 | $117K | 4.9% | 3.1% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Barrington, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
The towns next door employ 21% of Barrington
The biggest share goes to East Providence (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Barrington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | – | A+ | A | 30 min | $153,198 |
| Warren | 3% | B+ | A | 25 min | $90,729 |
| Warwick | 6% | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $88,708 |
| East Providence | 8% | B | A | 23 min | $75,912 |
| Bristol | 4% | A | A+ | 25 min | $97,764 |
| Portsmouth | under 3% | A | B+ | 23 min | $117,467 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Barrington’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 Barrington: questions
What is the median household income in Barrington?
$153,198 (±$9,179) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barrington?
4.5%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barrington?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barrington work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (27%, 8 mi), East Providence (8%, 5 mi), Warwick (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Barrington walkable?
Barrington is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Barrington without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Barrington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barrington
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.