Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Exeter (1.0%) is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Exeter is better than 82% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). Measured by household income, Exeter is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Only 8% work in Exeter; the top destination outside it is North Kingstown (12%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Exeter, in brief
A lot of Exeter works one town over
29% of working residents work in a town that borders Exeter: North Kingstown (12%), South Kingstown (9%) and West Greenwich (4%). Next door ↓
The quickest commute around
Exeter’s 22-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 25 to 34 minutes. Next door ↓
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.
The figures behind Exeter’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Exeter’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (12.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Exeter could be anywhere from B to A+.
Exeter by day and by night
On a workday 2,638 residents head out to work, 228 work right here, and 1,311 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Exeter on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
The towns that employ Exeter’s residents
Where Exeter clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
10% 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.
What the 1,539 jobs in Exeter are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Exeter, 2013 → 2023: 1,402 → 1,539. 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 Exeter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from Exeter
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Exeter workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,003 commuters (the 17% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Exeter
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 Exeter, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,629 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 41% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 2.8% of Exeter households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Exeter’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,218 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,800, Exeter comes 699th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | Richmond RI | 8,128 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 326 | Foster RI | 4,628 | $114K | 4.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 651 | Jamestown RI | 5,480 | $141K | 3.5% | 4.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 697 | Adairsville GA | 5,101 | $103K | 6.1% | 2.0% | 7% | A− |
| 698 | Ambler PA | 6,840 | $77K | 6.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 699 | Exeter RI | 6,540 | $111K | 12.8% | 1.0% | 8% | A− |
| 700 | Fairport NY | 5,326 | $107K | 12.6% | 1.8% | 7% | A− |
| 701 | Thomaston CT | 7,572 | $103K | 2.3% | 5.6% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,218 | 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 Exeter, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Work next door: 29% of Exeter’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Exeter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | – | A− | B+ | 22 min | $111,250 |
| North Kingstown | 12% | A | B+ | 26 min | $126,293 |
| West Greenwich | 4% | A− | C | 27 min | $135,625 |
| Richmond | under 3% | A | C+ | 34 min | $124,653 |
| South Kingstown | 9% | B | A | 25 min | $108,960 |
| Hopkinton | under 3% | B | C+ | 26 min | $97,172 |
| East Greenwich | 4% | A | A− | 25 min | $177,090 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Kingstown. Darker towns draw more of Exeter’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 Exeter: questions
What is the median household income in Exeter?
$111,250 (±$29,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Exeter?
12.8%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Exeter?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Exeter work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Kingstown (12%, 9 mi), Warwick (10%, 14 mi), Providence (10%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Exeter walkable?
Exeter is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Exeter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Exeter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Exeter
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.