Photo: Putneypics · CC BY 2.0How Putney works: jobs, income and commuting
A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. Putney grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in five work in Putney; the top destination outside it is Brattleboro (26%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Putney at work: what stands out
Putney and Brattleboro trade workers both ways
Brattleboro is the top workplace for Putney residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Putney come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Putney are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Vermont. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Vermont worker, and quicker than any town next door (21 to 28 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; with 936 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Putney’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Putney is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #53 of 71 in Vermont. Household income holds Putney’s grade up ($79,706, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Putney could be anywhere from D to B+.
The towns that employ Putney’s residents
Where Putney clocks in
26% of workers
4% 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.
About 18 minutes to work from Putney
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Putney workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,028 commuters (the 17% 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 Putney for work, and who comes in
On a workday 739 residents head out to work, 197 work right here, and 654 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 (0.91 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Putney
851 jobs are based in Putney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Putney, 2013 → 2023: 925 → 851. 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 Putney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Putney
About 21% 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.
Driving is how Putney gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Putney is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #44 of 71 in Vermont. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 18.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.2% across Vermont, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,237 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 2.0% of Putney households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Putney’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,164th of 5,083: where Putney ranks among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 821 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 851 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 982 | Westford VT | 2,072 | $113K | 2.5% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,162 | Middlefield OH | 2,767 | $65K | 9.8% | 8.9% | 15% | C |
| 3,163 | Crewe VA | 2,279 | $71K | 16.4% | 2.8% | 3% | C |
| 3,164 | Putney VT | 2,575 | $80K | 16.0% | 4.3% | 21% | C |
| 3,165 | East Missoula MT | 2,099 | $58K | 7.3% | 8.6% | 4% | C |
| 3,166 | Attica NY | 2,421 | $62K | 11.0% | 3.5% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Putney, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
How Putney compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Westminster (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Putney workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putney | – | C | B+ | 18 min | $79,706 |
| Brookline | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Dummerston | 2% | A− | B− | 21 min | $101,696 |
| Westminster | 4% | C+ | A− | 24 min | $71,491 |
Same-state neighbors only. Brookline: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Putney’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 Putney: questions
What is the median household income in Putney?
$79,706 (±$18,362) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Putney?
16.0%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Putney?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Putney work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brattleboro (26%, 11 mi), Westminster (4%, 6 mi), Rockingham (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Putney walkable?
Putney is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Putney without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Putney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Putney
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.