Photo: Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 3.0Reading has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Only 5% work in Reading; the top destination outside it is Woodstock (11%, 7 miles). Reading has 85 jobs, against 271 working residents. Working residents average 33 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Reading apart on work
A lot of Reading workers cross into New Hampshire
21% of Reading workers work outside Vermont, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Lebanon (10%), Claremont (2%) and Hanover (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Reading workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (19 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 271 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Reading goes to work
Where Reading clocks in
11% of workers
11% of workers
10% 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 33 minutes to work from Reading
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Reading workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 259 commuters (the 23% 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 works in Reading, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 258 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere.
About 480 people are in Reading on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Goods jobs make up 46% of work in Reading
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Reading, 2013 → 2023: 84 → 85. 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 Reading’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Reading’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Reading’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Reading workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | – | — | — | 33 min | $85,000 |
| West Windsor | 4% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $108,750 |
| Cavendish | under 3% | B− | B− | 19 min | $89,063 |
| Plymouth | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Woodstock | 11% | C+ | A+ | 22 min | $120,938 |
| Bridgewater | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Plymouth and Bridgewater: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Woodstock. Darker towns draw more of Reading’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 Reading: questions
What is the median household income in Reading?
$85,000 (±$18,958) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Reading?
8.4%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Reading?
33 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Reading work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Woodstock (11%, 7 mi), Windsor (11%, 9 mi), Lebanon (10%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Reading without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Reading, from the people who make the trip.
More of Reading
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.