Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Melville
2% of workers have no commute at all, where Rhode Island as a whole has 13%. Only 1% stay in Melville for work; outside it, Middletown is the main destination (23%, 3 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 14 minutes, where Rhode Island has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Melville: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Melville are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 26 across Rhode Island. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Rhode Island worker. Time on the road ↓
The jobs in Melville pay better than its residents’ jobs
83% of the jobs based in Melville pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 59% of the jobs Melville residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Melville. The jobs ↓
Melville makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Melville are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Melville residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 11%. 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; with 607 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Melville’s commute takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Melville workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 773 commuters (the 2% 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.
Goods jobs make up 47% of work in Melville
829 jobs are based in Melville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Melville, 2013 → 2023: 577 → 829. 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 Melville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Melville: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 598 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 820 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Melville on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Melville goes to work
Where Melville clocks in
23% of workers
19% 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.
Melville’s commute, mile by mile
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 towns around Melville
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Melville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melville | – | — | — | 14 min | $102,266 |
| Newport East | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Jamestown | under 2% | A− | A | 26 min | $140,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Newport East: 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 Melville’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 Melville: questions
What is the median household income in Melville?
$102,266 (±$22,303) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Melville?
1.6%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Melville?
14 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Melville work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Middletown (23%, 3 mi), Newport (19%, 5 mi), Portsmouth (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Melville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Melville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Melville
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.