Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Waterbury earn more than those in 80% of U.S. towns
7.9% of residents are in poverty (Vermont 10.1%). For jobs and income Waterbury is better than 64% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). Home is the office for 28% of workers; Vermont has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Waterbury in brief
Waterbury trades workers with the towns around it
Waterbury has about as many jobs (2,681) as working residents (2,706), but they are mostly different people: 2,282 residents leave for work each day while 2,257 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Waterbury are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Waterbury has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Waterbury went from 1,631 in 2014 to 2,681 in 2024, +64%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Waterbury works from home
28% of Waterbury workers work from home, against 17% across Vermont. Time on the road ↓
Waterbury workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
Inside Waterbury’s Jobs & income grade
Household income holds Waterbury’s grade up ($103,917, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 33% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waterbury could be anywhere from C to A.
The daily commute in and out of Waterbury
On a workday 2,282 residents head out to work, 424 work right here, and 2,257 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 (0.99 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
68% of the jobs in Waterbury pay over $3,333 a month
2,681 jobs are based in Waterbury.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waterbury, 2014 → 2024: 1,631 → 2,681. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waterbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes to work from Waterbury
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waterbury workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,981 commuters (the 28% 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.
10% of working residents work in Stowe
Where Waterbury clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
9% 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.
How far Waterbury goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Waterbury, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 2,761 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% 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). 7.9% of Waterbury households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waterbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,300, Waterbury ranks 1,405th of 3,541 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 340 | Jericho VT | 5,056 | $117K | 0.9% | 1.2% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 410 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 468 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,403 | Dickinson NY | 5,027 | $78K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 7% | B |
| 1,404 | Jackson Township PA | 4,076 | $81K | 5.5% | 3.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,405 | Waterbury VT | 5,434 | $104K | 7.9% | 3.4% | 16% | B |
| 1,406 | Oak View CA | 6,141 | $110K | 8.3% | 4.5% | 3% | B |
| 1,407 | Woods Creek WA | 6,943 | $157K | 9.3% | 4.8% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,541 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Waterbury, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
The towns next door employ 14% of Waterbury
The biggest share goes to Stowe (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waterbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterbury | – | B | B+ | 30 min | $103,917 |
| Duxbury | under 3% | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $105,208 |
| Moretown | 4% | B+ | C | 25 min | $104,423 |
| Middlesex | under 3% | A− | B− | 27 min | $109,632 |
| Bolton | under 3% | A− | C | 28 min | $111,125 |
| Stowe | 10% | B− | B+ | 19 min | $93,618 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waterbury’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 2024, 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 Waterbury: questions
What is the median household income in Waterbury?
$103,917 (±$22,843) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waterbury?
7.9%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waterbury?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waterbury work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stowe (10%, 7 mi), Montpelier (9%, 12 mi), Burlington (9%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Waterbury walkable?
Waterbury is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waterbury without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waterbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waterbury
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.