At 3.0%, unemployment in Swanton is lower than in 70% of U.S. towns
Only 8% work in Swanton; the top destination outside it is Swanton (15%, 1 miles). The two grades for Swanton are C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers (Vermont 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Swanton in brief
Swanton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Swanton went from 440 in 2013 to 831 in 2023, +89%. The jobs ↓
Swanton and Swanton trade workers both ways
Swanton is the top workplace for Swanton residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Swanton come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Swanton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Swanton is better than 30% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Swanton’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (20.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Swanton could be anywhere from D to B+.
Services make up most of the work in Swanton
831 jobs are based in Swanton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Swanton, 2013 → 2023: 440 → 831. 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 Swanton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that employ Swanton’s residents
Where Swanton clocks in
Lines 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 Swanton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 939 residents head out to work, 77 work right here, and 754 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 (0.82 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.
Time on the road from Swanton: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Swanton workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,096 commuters (the 7% 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 Swanton’s workers travel
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.
Swanton 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, Swanton is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.2% across Vermont.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,184 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 89% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 47% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 12.0% of Swanton households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Swanton’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,248th of 4,995: where Swanton ranks among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 736 | South Hero VT | 1,726 | $127K | 3.5% | 5.9% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 775 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 805 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,246 | Stuart IA | 1,882 | $65K | 14.0% | 4.7% | 7% | C |
| 3,247 | Pearl River LA | 2,715 | $57K | 17.9% | 4.8% | 3% | C |
| 3,248 | Swanton VT | 2,380 | $67K | 20.1% | 3.0% | 8% | C |
| 3,249 | Afton WY | 2,256 | $64K | 9.9% | 3.9% | 53% | C |
| 3,250 | Franklin NY | 2,246 | $64K | 12.2% | 3.3% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | 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 Swanton, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
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 Swanton: questions
What is the median household income in Swanton?
$66,607 (±$26,855) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Swanton?
20.1%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Swanton?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Swanton work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Swanton (15%, 1 mi), St. Albans (13%, 8 mi), St. Albans (12%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Swanton walkable?
Swanton is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Swanton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 47% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Swanton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Swanton
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.