Photo: Fancy-cats-are-happy-cats · Public domainHouseholds in Colchester earn more than those in 75% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Colchester B+; getting around on foot earns it A. 7.0% of residents are in poverty, next to 10.1% for Vermont as a whole. About one in seven stay in Colchester for work; outside it, Burlington is the main destination (25%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Colchester: the gist
Much of Colchester works one town over
50% of working residents work in a town that borders Colchester: Burlington (25%), South Burlington (15%) and Essex (5%). Next door ↓
Colchester trades workers with the towns around it
Colchester has about as many jobs (9,276) as working residents (8,794), but they are mostly different people: 7,391 residents leave for work each day while 7,873 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Colchester are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Colchester residents work close to home
78% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Colchester’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colchester is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #13 of 71 in Vermont. Household income is its strongest input ($97,891, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colchester could be anywhere from B− to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Colchester
On a workday 7,391 residents head out to work, 1,403 work right here, and 7,873 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 (1.05 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Colchester
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.
The towns that employ Colchester’s residents
Where Colchester clocks in
25% of workers
7% 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.
68% of the jobs in Colchester pay over $3,333 a month
9,276 jobs are based in Colchester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colchester, 2013 → 2023: 7,640 → 9,276. 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 Colchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Colchester takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colchester workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,719 commuters (the 19% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Colchester
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Colchester is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #19 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Colchester 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 9,535 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 33% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 6.3% of Colchester households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Colchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Colchester places 906th of 2,103 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 807 | South Burlington VT | 21,394 | $107K | 7.2% | 3.9% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 904 | Broussard LA | 15,799 | $116K | 13.4% | 3.6% | 12% | B+ |
| 905 | Ferguson Township PA | 18,813 | $86K | 18.2% | 4.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 906 | Colchester VT | 17,565 | $98K | 7.0% | 3.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 907 | Kettering MD | 14,014 | $127K | 8.7% | 7.3% | 1% | B+ |
| 908 | Charlestown Township IN | 16,748 | $92K | 9.2% | 3.6% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,726 | Rutland VT | 15,363 | $58K | 15.3% | 4.4% | 41% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,832 | Bennington VT | 14,953 | $59K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 56% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Colchester, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Colchester and its neighbors: 50% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | – | B+ | A | 20 min | $97,891 |
| Burlington | 25% | B+ | A+ | 19 min | $71,109 |
| Milton | 2% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $118,977 |
| South Hero | under 2% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $127,434 |
| South Burlington | 15% | A− | A | 18 min | $106,667 |
| Winooski | 3% | B+ | A+ | 22 min | $79,522 |
| Essex | 5% | A | B+ | 22 min | $110,199 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Burlington. Darker towns draw more of Colchester’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 Colchester: questions
What is the median household income in Colchester?
$97,891 (±$8,720) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colchester?
7.0%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colchester?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colchester work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington (25%, 4 mi), South Burlington (15%, 8 mi), Williston (7%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colchester walkable?
Colchester is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colchester without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colchester
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.