Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Bradford’s household incomes are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income B+: better than 69% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #18 of 71 in Vermont.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns · #32 of 71 in Vermont.
Working residents average 25 minutes each way (Vermont 24, U.S. 26). About one in five work in Bradford; the top destination outside it is Lebanon (11%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Bradford
A lot of Bradford workers cross into New Hampshire
39% of Bradford workers work outside Vermont, most of them in New Hampshire, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Bradford trades workers with the towns around it
Bradford has about as many jobs (1,177) as working residents (1,255), but they are mostly different people: 986 residents leave for work each day while 908 people come in. Only 23% of the jobs in Bradford are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bradford’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Bradford is Lebanon, NH, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (143) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
What’s behind Bradford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bradford is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #18 of 71 in Vermont. The poverty rate holds Bradford’s grade up (2.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bradford could be anywhere from C+ to A.
11% of working residents work in Lebanon
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Bradford clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 986 residents head out to work, 269 work right here, and 908 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 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.
Half of Bradford commutes less than 23 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 19% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
What the 1,177 jobs in Bradford are
1,177 jobs are based in Bradford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bradford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bradford, 2013 → 2023: 1,131 → 1,177. 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the VT average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bradford workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,311 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Bradford is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bradford is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #32 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Bradford near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,421 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 47% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 4.5% of Bradford households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bradford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bradford is 1,281st of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bradford, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 605 | Norwich VT | 3,577 | $140K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 803 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 956 | Westford VT | 2,072 | $113K | 2.5% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,279 | Lomira WI | 2,686 | $70K | 8.9% | 1.9% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,280 | Clearfield Township PA | 2,358 | $88K | 8.6% | 2.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,281 | Bradford VT | 2,834 | $108K | 2.8% | 3.5% | 21% | B+ |
| 1,282 | Fishkill NY | 2,147 | $97K | 2.7% | 9.5% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,283 | Beresford SD | 2,105 | $79K | 5.2% | 1.8% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | 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.
Bradford and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Fairlee (4%). Darker towns draw more of Bradford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bradford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | – | B+ | A− | 25 min | $108,162 |
| Newbury | 2% | C | B | 30 min | $62,316 |
| Corinth | under 2% | C | B | 35 min | $89,167 |
| Fairlee | 4% | C− | B | 24 min | $74,760 |
| West Fairlee | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Fairlee: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Bradford: questions
What is the median household income in Bradford?
$108,162 (±$14,712) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bradford?
2.8%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bradford?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bradford work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lebanon (11%, 26 mi), Hanover (9%, 20 mi), Hartford (7%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bradford walkable?
Bradford is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bradford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bradford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bradford
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.