Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Woonsocket (6.8%) than in 81% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.2 in Providence. Woonsocket grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in seven work in Woonsocket; the top destination outside it is Providence (9%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Woonsocket
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Woonsocket is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #37 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car holds Woonsocket’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Woonsocket could be anywhere from C to C+.
In and out of Woonsocket on a workday
On a workday 15,009 residents head out to work, 2,699 work right here, and 10,093 people come in from elsewhere.
About 40,000 people are in Woonsocket on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.72 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 places Woonsocket commutes to
Where Woonsocket clocks in
9% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
67% of the jobs in Woonsocket pay over $3,333 a month
12,792 jobs are based in Woonsocket.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Woonsocket, 2013 → 2023: 12,154 → 12,792. 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 Woonsocket’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Woonsocket: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Woonsocket workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,991 commuters (the 6% 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 Woonsocket’s 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 Woonsocket, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Woonsocket is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #13 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% 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 19,229 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 16.7% of Woonsocket households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Woonsocket’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Woonsocket is 839th of 1,000 U.S. towns of 31,000 to 60,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Cumberland RI | 37,615 | $118K | 3.9% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 399 | Coventry RI | 36,281 | $103K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 534 | West Warwick RI | 31,487 | $78K | 9.6% | 4.2% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 837 | Copperas Cove TX | 40,118 | $71K | 11.4% | 7.6% | 21% | C |
| 838 | McMinnville OR | 34,647 | $74K | 16.0% | 5.5% | 35% | C |
| 839 | Woonsocket RI | 44,580 | $61K | 18.7% | 6.8% | 15% | C |
| 840 | Coachella CA | 45,411 | $69K | 10.2% | 9.1% | 11% | C |
| 841 | Riviera Beach FL | 39,357 | $68K | 18.4% | 8.6% | 9% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,000 | 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 Woonsocket, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Bordering towns draw 10% of Woonsocket’s workers
The biggest share goes to Cumberland (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Woonsocket workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woonsocket | – | C | A | 29 min | $61,059 |
| North Smithfield | 3% | A | B+ | 26 min | $108,866 |
| Cumberland | 4% | A | B | 26 min | $117,522 |
| Cumberland Hill | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cumberland Hill: 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 Woonsocket’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 Woonsocket: questions
What is the median household income in Woonsocket?
$61,059 (±$5,299) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Woonsocket?
18.7%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Woonsocket?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Woonsocket work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (9%, 13 mi), Franklin Town (4%, 7 mi), Cumberland (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Woonsocket walkable?
Woonsocket is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Woonsocket without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Woonsocket, from the people who make the trip.
More of Woonsocket
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.