Photo: Marcbela (Marc N Belanger) · Public domainHousehold incomes in Cumberland top those of 87% of U.S. towns
3.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.2% across Rhode Island. The two grades for Cumberland are A for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten stay in Cumberland for work; outside it, Providence is the main destination (15%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Cumberland: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cumberland is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #3 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.0%, 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, Cumberland could be anywhere from A to A+.
How many people are in Cumberland by day
On a workday 15,153 residents head out to work, 1,891 work right here, and 8,166 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Cumberland on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Out of Cumberland to work: where people go
Where Cumberland clocks in
15% of workers
6% 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 Cumberland
10,057 jobs are based in Cumberland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cumberland, 2013 → 2023: 9,197 → 10,057. 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 Cumberland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Cumberland: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cumberland workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,385 commuters (the 15% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Cumberland
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.
For most of Cumberland, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cumberland is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #29 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Rhode Island.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 19,234 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 3.1% of Cumberland households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Cumberland’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cumberland is 89th of 1,196 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 51,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Bridgewater Township NJ | 46,455 | $173K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 88 | Olney MD | 35,797 | $171K | 4.3% | 3.6% | 5% | A |
| 89 | Cumberland RI | 37,615 | $118K | 3.9% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| 90 | Batavia IL | 26,586 | $120K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| 91 | Bernards Township NJ | 28,594 | $194K | 3.1% | 4.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 278 | North Kingstown RI | 27,885 | $126K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 499 | Coventry RI | 36,281 | $103K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 657 | West Warwick RI | 31,487 | $78K | 9.6% | 4.2% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,196 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Cumberland, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Next door is work for 14% of Cumberland
The biggest share goes to Lincoln (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cumberland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | – | A | B | 26 min | $117,522 |
| Lincoln | 6% | B+ | B | 24 min | $104,821 |
| Central Falls | under 3% | C− | A+ | 27 min | $49,285 |
| Woonsocket | 5% | C | A | 29 min | $61,059 |
| North Smithfield | under 3% | A | B+ | 26 min | $108,866 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cumberland’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 Cumberland: questions
What is the median household income in Cumberland?
$117,522 (±$8,246) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cumberland?
3.9%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cumberland?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cumberland work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (15%, 10 mi), Lincoln (6%, 4 mi), Woonsocket (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cumberland walkable?
Cumberland is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cumberland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cumberland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cumberland
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.