Photo: Maximilian Schönherr · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 3.9 jobs in Berlin for every working resident, and 4,558 people commute in
About one in seven stay in Berlin for work; outside it, Montpelier is the main destination (15%, 6 miles). There are 4,732 jobs in Berlin; 1,226 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Berlin is better than 59% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (C+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Berlin at work: what stands out
Berlin fills up on a workday
Berlin has 4,732 jobs, 3.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,500 people are in town, more than double the 2,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Berlin works one town over
35% of working residents work in a town that borders Berlin: Montpelier (15%), Barre (9%) and East Montpelier (4%). 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.
Why Berlin gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Berlin’s grade up (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berlin could be anywhere from C to A−.
Berlin by day and by night
On a workday 1,052 residents head out to work and 174 work right here.
About 6,500 people are in Berlin on a workday afternoon, 119% more than live here.
3.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Berlin’s workforce comes from
Where Berlin clocks in
15% 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.
The kinds of work in Berlin
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berlin, 2013 → 2023: 4,595 → 4,732. 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 Berlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Berlin: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berlin workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,127 commuters (the 12% 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.
The distance from Berlin to work
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.
Most trips from Berlin start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.2% across Vermont.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,277 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 51% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 8.4% of Berlin households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Berlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Berlin next to U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000: 1,765th of 4,618 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 439 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | Norwich VT | 3,577 | $140K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 809 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,763 | New Hampton NH | 2,428 | $95K | 13.2% | 0.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,764 | Lower Towamensing Township PA | 3,113 | $69K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,765 | Berlin VT | 2,948 | $87K | 10.9% | 2.9% | 14% | B |
| 1,766 | Minden NV | 3,707 | $100K | 13.3% | 2.1% | 23% | B |
| 1,767 | New Lebanon OH | 3,870 | $70K | 21.9% | 1.0% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Berlin, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Berlin and its neighbors: 35% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berlin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | – | B | C+ | 21 min | $86,691 |
| Montpelier | 15% | B+ | A+ | 18 min | $81,030 |
| Middlesex | under 3% | A− | B− | 27 min | $109,632 |
| East Montpelier | 4% | A− | B+ | 20 min | $92,778 |
| Barre | 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Moretown | under 3% | B+ | C | 25 min | $104,423 |
| Northfield | 4% | C+ | A | 27 min | $71,768 |
| Barre | 9% | C | A | 19 min | $65,625 |
| Williamstown | under 3% | B+ | D | 23 min | $94,418 |
Same-state neighbors only. Barre: the same community as the city of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Montpelier. Darker towns draw more of Berlin’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 Berlin: questions
What is the median household income in Berlin?
$86,691 (±$20,689) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berlin?
10.9%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berlin?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berlin work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montpelier (15%, 6 mi), Barre (9%, 5 mi), Burlington (6%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berlin walkable?
Berlin is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berlin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berlin
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.