Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Springfield (8.2%) than in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Springfield for work; outside it, Hartford is the main destination (5%, 26 miles). Springfield grades D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The average commute takes 27 minutes each way, where Vermont has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Springfield, in brief
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Springfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Springfield is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #68 of 71 in Vermont. Household income holds Springfield’s grade up ($66,571, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Springfield could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Commuting out of Springfield: the destinations
Where Springfield clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Who leaves Springfield for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,784 residents head out to work, 1,324 work right here, and 2,331 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 (0.89 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.
What Springfield’s employers do
3,655 jobs are based in Springfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 4,064 → 3,655. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Springfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Springfield workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,006 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.
How far Springfield goes to work
About 16% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Springfield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #27 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Springfield 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 3,539 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 25% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 13.2% of Springfield households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Springfield sits among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 387 | Williston VT | 9,975 | $107K | 4.3% | 1.6% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 535 | Essex VT | 11,346 | $110K | 5.0% | 2.1% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 956 | Essex Junction VT | 10,921 | $89K | 9.5% | 1.9% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,638 | Mexia TX | 7,091 | $42K | 32.3% | 3.3% | 24% | D |
| 2,639 | Commerce TX | 9,928 | $44K | 23.4% | 6.5% | 24% | D |
| 2,640 | Springfield VT | 8,881 | $67K | 14.8% | 8.2% | 32% | D |
| 2,641 | Delta CO | 9,802 | $45K | 20.5% | 3.7% | 28% | D |
| 2,642 | Rayne LA | 6,995 | $42K | 25.5% | 7.2% | 11% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Springfield, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Next door to Springfield
The biggest share goes to Charlestown (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Springfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | – | D | A− | 27 min | $66,571 |
| Chester | 3% | C+ | A− | 28 min | $62,125 |
| Weathersfield | under 3% | C+ | B− | 22 min | $83,095 |
| Rockingham | 3% | C− | A | 20 min | $70,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Springfield’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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$66,571 (±$12,881) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
14.8%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hartford (5%, 26 mi), Claremont (4%, 10 mi), Lebanon (4%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.