Photo: Putneypics · CC BY 2.0Jobs and the daily commute in Westminster
27% of workers work from home, next to 17% for Vermont as a whole. For jobs and income Westminster is better than 40% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (A−). About one in seven work in Westminster; the top destination outside it is Brattleboro (15%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Westminster apart
Jobs & income in Westminster: the grade in detail
The poverty rate holds Westminster’s grade up (8.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 24% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westminster could be anywhere from C− to B+.
About 24 minutes to work from Westminster
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westminster workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,058 commuters (the 27% 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 a workday changes Westminster
On a workday 1,035 residents head out to work, 145 work right here, and 836 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 (0.83 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.
Where Westminster goes to work
Where Westminster clocks in
15% of workers
5% 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.
The kinds of work in Westminster
981 jobs are based in Westminster.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westminster, 2013 → 2023: 1,126 → 981. 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 Westminster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Westminster, by distance
About 17% 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.
Westminster is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,449 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 33% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 2.9% of Westminster households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Westminster’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Westminster ranks: 2,690th of 4,618 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 439 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | Norwich VT | 3,577 | $140K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 809 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,688 | Vernon Township OH | 3,035 | $81K | 10.8% | 6.1% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,689 | Porter Township PA | 2,188 | $73K | 7.2% | 5.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,690 | Westminster VT | 2,932 | $71K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 12% | C+ |
| 2,691 | Orleans Township MI | 2,758 | $63K | 16.0% | 1.3% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,692 | Strasburg CO | 3,455 | $118K | 13.6% | 9.1% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | 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 Westminster, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
21% of Westminster works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Rockingham (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westminster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | – | C+ | A− | 24 min | $71,491 |
| Rockingham | 13% | C− | A | 20 min | $70,857 |
| Putney | 5% | C | B+ | 18 min | $79,706 |
| Athens | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Bellows Falls | under 2% | D | A | 20 min | $56,086 |
| Brookline | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Athens and Brookline: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westminster’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 Westminster: questions
What is the median household income in Westminster?
$71,491 (±$3,579) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westminster?
8.8%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westminster?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westminster work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brattleboro (15%, 16 mi), Rockingham (13%, 7 mi), Putney (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westminster walkable?
Westminster is more walkable than 81% 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 Westminster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westminster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westminster
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.