Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge · Photo: Chester Liebs · Public domainHighgate has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
507 jobs are based in Highgate for 1,532 working residents. Highgate grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 31 minutes; Vermont averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Highgate in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Highgate than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Highgate fell from 813 in 2013 to 507 in 2023, −38%. 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 ↓
Highgate and Swanton trade workers both ways
Swanton is the top workplace for Highgate residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Highgate come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Highgate workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (23 to 25 minutes). 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 Highgate earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Highgate is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #32 of 71 in Vermont. Unemployment holds Highgate’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Highgate could be anywhere from C− to A−.
67% of the jobs in Highgate pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highgate, 2013 → 2023: 813 → 507. 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 Highgate’s own residents hold wherever they work.
15% of working residents work in Swanton
Where Highgate clocks in
Lines 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.
About 31 minutes to work from Highgate
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highgate workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,465 commuters (the 15% 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.
Who commutes out of Highgate, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,434 residents head out to work, 98 work right here, and 409 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Highgate 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.
Where in the region Highgate works
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 Highgate, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Highgate is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #70 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Highgate 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 1,721 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 4.6% of Highgate households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Highgate’s commuters take a bus or train.
Highgate is 2,037th of 4,355 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 405 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 477 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 648 | Norwich VT | 3,577 | $140K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,035 | Pine Grove Township PA | 4,109 | $85K | 3.0% | 8.7% | 9% | B− |
| 2,036 | North Beaver Township PA | 3,934 | $71K | 5.3% | 6.4% | 9% | B− |
| 2,037 | Highgate VT | 3,575 | $81K | 8.1% | 2.4% | 6% | B− |
| 2,038 | Thunderbolt GA | 2,534 | $75K | 17.6% | 3.5% | 3% | B− |
| 2,039 | Wilder KY | 3,108 | $71K | 18.6% | 3.5% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Highgate, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Highgate’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Swanton. Darker towns draw more of Highgate’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 Highgate: questions
What is the median household income in Highgate?
$81,017 (±$14,337) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highgate?
8.1%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highgate?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highgate work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Swanton (15%, 5 mi), St. Albans (13%, 11 mi), St. Albans (12%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Highgate walkable?
Highgate is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highgate without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highgate, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highgate
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.