Nichols House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Barre has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Only 7% work in Barre itself; outside it, Barre draws the most (22%, 2 miles). Barre has 1,427 jobs; 3,760 of its residents have a job. The trip to work takes 23 minutes on average (Vermont 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Barre: the gist
Barre and Barre trade workers both ways
Barre is the top workplace for Barre residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Barre come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Barre than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Barre fell from 2,188 in 2013 to 1,427 in 2023, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Most Barre residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
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.
Where Barre goes to work
Where Barre clocks in
14% of workers
13% 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.
Making and building: 29% of jobs based in Barre
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barre, 2013 → 2023: 2,188 → 1,427. 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 Barre’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Barre’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.
How many people are in Barre by day
On a workday 3,515 residents head out to work, 245 work right here, and 1,182 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Barre on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 23 minutes to work from Barre
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barre workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,872 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Next door is work for 15% of Barre
The biggest share goes to Berlin (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Barre workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barre | – | — | — | 23 min | $93,210 |
| Williamstown | 2% | B+ | D | 23 min | $94,418 |
| Berlin | 13% | B | C+ | 21 min | $86,691 |
| Orange | under 2% | C+ | D | 28 min | $71,302 |
| East Montpelier | under 2% | A− | B+ | 20 min | $92,778 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Barre’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 Barre: questions
What is the median household income in Barre?
$93,210 (±$8,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barre?
2.5%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barre?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barre work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Barre (22%, 2 mi), Montpelier (14%, 8 mi), Berlin (13%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Barre 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 Barre, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barre
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.