Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Westerly’s household incomes are higher than in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Westerly for work; outside it, Groton is the main destination (9%, 12 miles). Poverty touches 5.2% of residents (Rhode Island 11.2%). Jobs and income earn Westerly B+; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Westerly apart on work
A lot of Westerly workers cross into Connecticut
26% of Westerly workers work outside Rhode Island, most of them in Connecticut, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Westerly live in another state
Stonington, CT (8%), Groton, CT (4%) and North Stonington, CT (2%) are among the top places Westerly’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 14% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
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 Westerly earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westerly is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #19 of 38 in Rhode Island. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westerly could be anywhere from B to A.
The towns that employ Westerly’s residents
Where Westerly clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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.
How many people are in Westerly by day
On a workday 7,256 residents head out to work, 3,086 work right here, and 4,573 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Westerly on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 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 kinds of work in Westerly
7,659 jobs are based in Westerly.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westerly, 2013 → 2023: 7,980 → 7,659. 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 Westerly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Westerly takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westerly workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,795 commuters (the 12% 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 Westerly
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.
Driving is how Westerly gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westerly is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #23 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 12,200 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 20% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 6.8% of Westerly households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Westerly’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Westerly is 718th of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 716 | Aston Township PA | 16,760 | $99K | 6.0% | 6.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 717 | Hewitt TX | 16,754 | $84K | 4.8% | 4.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 718 | Westerly RI | 23,139 | $99K | 5.2% | 4.1% | 30% | B+ |
| 719 | Benicia CA | 26,401 | $121K | 7.6% | 4.5% | 14% | B+ |
| 720 | Streetsboro OH | 17,730 | $90K | 5.6% | 5.1% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Westerly, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
The towns around Westerly
The biggest share goes to Stonington (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westerly workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westerly | – | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $98,875 |
| Hopkinton | 2% | B | C+ | 26 min | $97,172 |
| Ashaway | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Charlestown | under 3% | B+ | B | 28 min | $109,404 |
Same-state neighbors only. Ashaway: 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 Westerly’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 Westerly: questions
What is the median household income in Westerly?
$98,875 (±$5,450) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westerly?
5.2%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westerly?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westerly work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Groton (9%, 12 mi), Stonington (5%, 6 mi), Providence (5%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westerly walkable?
Westerly is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westerly without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westerly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westerly
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.