Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 3.0Central Falls has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 3,244 jobs in Central Falls, and 7,484 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Central Falls are C− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Central Falls is behind 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Central Falls’ grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Central Falls is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #38 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car holds Central Falls’ grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.6%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Central Falls could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Who commutes out of Central Falls, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,949 residents head out to work, 535 work right here, and 2,709 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Central Falls on a workday afternoon, 18% 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.
14% of working residents work in Providence
Where Central Falls clocks in
14% of workers
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Central Falls
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central Falls, 2013 → 2023: 2,995 → 3,244. 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 Central Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Central Falls
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central Falls workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,240 commuters (the 5% 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.
How far Central Falls’ workers travel
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.
In Central Falls, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Central Falls is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #3 of 38 in Rhode Island. Both inputs place Central Falls 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 9,746 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 65% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 29.7% of Central Falls households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Central Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000, Central Falls ranks 1,508th of 1,712 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Barrington RI | 16,961 | $153K | 4.5% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Portsmouth RI | 17,474 | $117K | 4.9% | 3.1% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 398 | North Kingstown RI | 27,885 | $126K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,506 | Eel Township IN | 18,549 | $48K | 16.9% | 4.4% | 26% | C− |
| 1,507 | Auburn NY | 25,947 | $51K | 19.5% | 4.9% | 33% | C− |
| 1,508 | Central Falls RI | 23,124 | $49K | 24.6% | 7.9% | 7% | C− |
| 1,509 | Harvey LA | 20,915 | $49K | 25.7% | 7.0% | 9% | C− |
| 1,510 | Tifton GA | 17,595 | $45K | 23.5% | 3.4% | 33% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 Central Falls, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Next door is work for 21% of Central Falls
The biggest share goes to Pawtucket (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Central Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Falls | – | C− | A+ | 27 min | $49,285 |
| Valley Falls | under 4% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Cumberland | 4% | A | B | 26 min | $117,522 |
| Pawtucket | 9% | C+ | A | 26 min | $68,310 |
| Lincoln | 4% | B+ | B | 24 min | $104,821 |
Same-state neighbors only. Valley Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Central Falls’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 Central Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Central Falls?
$49,285 (±$8,160) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central Falls?
24.6%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central Falls?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central Falls work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (14%, 5 mi), Pawtucket (9%, 2 mi), Warwick (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Central Falls walkable?
Central Falls is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.4 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Central Falls without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 30% of households have no car. 65% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Central Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central Falls
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.