Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0There are 1.9 jobs in Brattleboro for every working resident, and 6,740 people commute in
The two grades for Brattleboro are C− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Employers in Brattleboro report 9,339 jobs; 5,002 of its residents have a job. Measured by household income, Brattleboro is behind 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Brattleboro in brief
Commutes from Brattleboro are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Vermont. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Vermont worker. Time on the road ↓
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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Brattleboro
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brattleboro is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #67 of 71 in Vermont. Job access by car holds Brattleboro’s grade up (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.2%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brattleboro could be anywhere from D to C.
From Brattleboro, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brattleboro workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,504 commuters (the 18% 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.
How a workday changes Brattleboro
On a workday 2,403 residents head out to work and 2,599 work right here.
About 16,000 people are in Brattleboro on a workday afternoon, 37% more than live here.
1.9 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 the people who work in Brattleboro live
Where Brattleboro clocks in
3% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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 Brattleboro
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brattleboro, 2013 → 2023: 9,597 → 9,339. 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 Brattleboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Brattleboro’s commute, mile by mile
About 20% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Brattleboro, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brattleboro is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #6 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Brattleboro 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 5,489 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 37% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 9.9% of Brattleboro households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Brattleboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000, and where Brattleboro sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 386 | Williston VT | 9,975 | $107K | 4.3% | 1.6% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 537 | Essex VT | 11,346 | $110K | 5.0% | 2.1% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 968 | Essex Junction VT | 10,921 | $89K | 9.5% | 1.9% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,442 | Hibbing MN | 15,823 | $56K | 16.2% | 6.3% | 50% | C− |
| 2,443 | Hillcrest CA | 10,511 | $46K | 31.4% | 8.7% | 2% | C− |
| 2,444 | Brattleboro VT | 11,872 | $58K | 17.8% | 7.2% | 52% | C− |
| 2,445 | Antigo WI | 8,060 | $46K | 19.5% | 4.5% | 40% | D |
| 2,446 | Coloma Township IL | 10,277 | $52K | 22.3% | 5.8% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Brattleboro, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Brattleboro and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brattleboro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brattleboro | – | C− | A+ | 19 min | $58,241 |
| Dummerston | under 2% | A− | B− | 21 min | $101,696 |
| Guilford | under 2% | C+ | C− | 25 min | $75,243 |
| Vernon | under 2% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $85,682 |
| Marlboro | under 2% | C+ | B | 17 min | $77,135 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brattleboro’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 Brattleboro: questions
What is the median household income in Brattleboro?
$58,241 (±$8,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brattleboro?
17.8%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brattleboro?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brattleboro work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Keene (3%, 18 mi), Putney (2%, 11 mi), Greenfield (2%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brattleboro walkable?
Brattleboro is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brattleboro without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 37% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brattleboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brattleboro
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.