Rockingham Meetinghouse · Photo: HABS · Public domainRockingham has higher unemployment (7.8%) than 87% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Rockingham; the top destination outside it is Brattleboro (8%, 22 miles). Jobs and income earn Rockingham C−; getting around on foot earns it A. A typical one-way commute lasts 20 minutes, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rockingham in brief
Many of the people who work in Rockingham live in another state
Walpole, NH (5%), Charlestown, NH (3%) and Keene, NH (3%) are among the top places Rockingham’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 13% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Rockingham’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Rockingham is Brattleboro, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (168) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Rockingham
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rockingham is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #66 of 71 in Vermont. Household income holds Rockingham’s grade up ($70,857, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockingham could be anywhere from D to B.
The towns that employ Rockingham’s residents
Where Rockingham clocks in
8% of workers
8% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Rockingham
About 15% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Rockingham
On a workday 1,669 residents head out to work, 462 work right here, and 1,272 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 (0.81 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.
A place that makes things: 34% of Rockingham’s jobs are in goods
1,734 jobs are based in Rockingham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockingham, 2013 → 2023: 1,771 → 1,734. 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 Rockingham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Rockingham: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockingham workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,969 commuters (the 18% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Rockingham
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rockingham is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #21 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Rockingham 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 2,399 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 14.8% of Rockingham households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Rockingham’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Rockingham is 3,234th of 3,798 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 332 | Jericho VT | 5,056 | $117K | 0.9% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 454 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,232 | American Falls ID | 4,785 | $58K | 10.8% | 7.3% | 24% | C− |
| 3,233 | Maquoketa IA | 6,027 | $60K | 14.2% | 8.6% | 34% | C− |
| 3,234 | Rockingham VT | 4,697 | $71K | 16.7% | 7.8% | 22% | C− |
| 3,235 | Elberton GA | 4,890 | $50K | 25.7% | 3.9% | 22% | C− |
| 3,236 | Rushville IN | 6,171 | $53K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,798 | 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 Rockingham, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Next door is work for 21% of Rockingham
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockingham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham | – | C− | A | 20 min | $70,857 |
| Bellows Falls | under 2% | D | A | 20 min | $56,086 |
| Westminster | 8% | C+ | A− | 24 min | $71,491 |
| Springfield | 7% | D | A− | 27 min | $66,571 |
| North Westminster | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Grafton | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North Westminster: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Grafton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Westminster. Darker towns draw more of Rockingham’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 Rockingham: questions
What is the median household income in Rockingham?
$70,857 (±$16,152) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockingham?
16.7%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockingham?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockingham work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brattleboro (8%, 22 mi), Westminster (8%, 7 mi), Springfield (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockingham walkable?
Rockingham is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockingham without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockingham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockingham
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.