Photo: The original uploader was Mickmaguire at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.0Waitsfield’s household incomes are higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Waitsfield for work; outside it, Warren is the main destination (11%, 6 miles). Below the poverty line: 6.0% of residents, against 10.1% across Vermont. The two grades for Waitsfield are B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Waitsfield’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Waitsfield is better than 50% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Waitsfield’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (1.8%) is left out: Waitsfield’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Waitsfield could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Waitsfield
On a workday 641 residents head out to work, 200 work right here, and 977 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Waitsfield on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 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.
Commuting out of Waitsfield: the destinations
Where Waitsfield clocks in
11% 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.
What work there is in Waitsfield: 1,177 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waitsfield, 2013 → 2023: 975 → 1,177. 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 Waitsfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Waitsfield: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waitsfield workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 709 commuters (the 19% 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.
Half of Waitsfield commutes less than 11 miles
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.
Waitsfield 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, Waitsfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Waitsfield 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 875 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 36% 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). 8.7% of Waitsfield households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waitsfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,656 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500, Waitsfield comes 2,199th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 703 | South Hero VT | 1,726 | $127K | 3.5% | 5.9% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 770 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 889 | Westford VT | 2,072 | $113K | 2.5% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,197 | Dublin NH | 1,605 | $105K | 9.7% | 1.7% | 11% | B− |
| 2,198 | Jefferson Township PA | 2,210 | $73K | 6.5% | 7.6% | 7% | B− |
| 2,199 | Waitsfield VT | 1,887 | $84K | 6.0% | 1.8% | 24% | B− |
| 2,200 | Grandy NC | 2,245 | $63K | 6.9% | 0.9% | 4% | B− |
| 2,201 | East Lexington VA | 1,652 | $64K | 3.9% | 0.0% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Waitsfield, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Next door is work for 22% of Waitsfield
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waitsfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waitsfield | – | B− | A− | 25 min | $84,375 |
| Northfield | under 2% | C+ | A | 27 min | $71,768 |
| Fayston | 8% | B | A− | 29 min | $110,250 |
| Moretown | 3% | B+ | C | 25 min | $104,423 |
| Warren | 11% | C | B | 19 min | $86,905 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Warren. Darker towns draw more of Waitsfield’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 Waitsfield: questions
What is the median household income in Waitsfield?
$84,375 (±$34,128) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waitsfield?
6.0%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waitsfield?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waitsfield work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Warren (11%, 6 mi), Fayston (8%, 5 mi), Burlington (7%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waitsfield walkable?
Waitsfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waitsfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waitsfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waitsfield
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.