Northfield Falls Covered Bridge · Photo: Steven Bergeron Srbergeron · CC BY 3.0Northfield has lower unemployment (2.9%) than 71% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Northfield for work; outside it, Montpelier is the main destination (9%, 10 miles). Jobs and income earn Northfield C+; getting around on foot earns it A. The average commute takes 27 minutes each way; Vermont averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Northfield: the figures worth knowing
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Northfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northfield is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #44 of 71 in Vermont. Unemployment holds Northfield’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northfield could be anywhere from C− to B+.
About 27 minutes to work from Northfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northfield workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,528 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,659 residents head out to work, 537 work right here, and 1,179 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 (0.78 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.
Where Northfield goes to work
Where Northfield clocks in
9% of workers
8% 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.
Inside Northfield’s 1,716 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,737 → 1,716. 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 Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Northfield’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Northfield 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, Northfield is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #17 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Northfield 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 2,875 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 56% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 56% 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). 2.5% of Northfield households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Northfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Northfield is 2,176th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Jericho VT | 5,056 | $117K | 0.9% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 404 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Fairfax VT | 5,455 | $129K | 5.1% | 2.1% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,174 | Chocolay Township MI | 6,014 | $87K | 9.4% | 4.4% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,175 | Paradise Township MI | 5,101 | $74K | 6.3% | 5.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,176 | Northfield VT | 5,873 | $72K | 12.5% | 2.9% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,177 | Osceola IA | 5,679 | $68K | 6.4% | 6.0% | 44% | C+ |
| 2,178 | Morris MN | 5,150 | $68K | 15.9% | 0.6% | 51% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Northfield, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
11% of Northfield works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Berlin (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | – | C+ | A | 27 min | $71,768 |
| Waitsfield | under 3% | B− | A− | 25 min | $84,375 |
| Williamstown | 3% | B+ | D | 23 min | $94,418 |
| Berlin | 8% | B | C+ | 21 min | $86,691 |
| Moretown | under 3% | B+ | C | 25 min | $104,423 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northfield’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 Northfield: questions
What is the median household income in Northfield?
$71,768 (±$13,486) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northfield?
12.5%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northfield?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northfield work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montpelier (9%, 10 mi), Berlin (8%, 5 mi), Barre (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northfield walkable?
Northfield is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northfield without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 56% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northfield
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.