Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Thetford commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
About one in seven work in Thetford itself; outside it, Lebanon draws the most (17%, 14 miles). 528 jobs are based in Thetford, against 1,127 working residents. Thetford grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Thetford
A lot of Thetford workers cross into New Hampshire
34% of Thetford workers work outside Vermont, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Lebanon (17%), Hanover (17%) and Lyme (1%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Thetford makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in Thetford are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Thetford residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. The jobs ↓
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 Thetford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Thetford is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #26 of 71 in Vermont. Unemployment holds Thetford’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 19% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Thetford could be anywhere from C to A−.
The towns that employ Thetford’s residents
Where Thetford clocks in
17% of workers
17% of workers
11% 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.
Making and building: 42% of jobs based in Thetford
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thetford, 2013 → 2023: 498 → 528. 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 Thetford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Thetford
On a workday 948 residents head out to work, 179 work right here, and 349 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Thetford on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Thetford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thetford workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,332 commuters (the 14% 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.
The commute from Thetford, by distance
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.
For most of Thetford, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Thetford is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #66 of 71 in Vermont. Both inputs place Thetford 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 1,541 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.0% of Thetford households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Thetford’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Thetford is 1,802nd of 4,882 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 457 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 643 | Norwich VT | 3,577 | $140K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 851 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,800 | Welcome NC | 3,521 | $63K | 9.3% | 3.3% | 7% | B |
| 1,801 | Ferrisburgh VT | 2,677 | $107K | 2.2% | 5.2% | 10% | B |
| 1,802 | Thetford VT | 2,863 | $88K | 8.0% | 2.4% | 16% | B |
| 1,803 | East Oakdale CA | 2,269 | $120K | 11.9% | 1.6% | 1% | B |
| 1,804 | Lula GA | 3,048 | $69K | 10.9% | 2.3% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Thetford, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
How Thetford compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Norwich (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Thetford’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 Thetford: questions
What is the median household income in Thetford?
$88,045 (±$16,316) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thetford?
8.0%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thetford?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thetford work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lebanon (17%, 14 mi), Hanover (17%, 9 mi), Hartford (11%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Thetford walkable?
Thetford is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Thetford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thetford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thetford
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.