Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Worcester works elsewhere
For 24% of workers, the job is at home (Vermont 17%). There are 37 jobs in Worcester, and 396 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Worcester itself; outside it, Montpelier draws the most (19%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Worcester at work: what stands out
Worcester is a place people come home to
There are 37 jobs based in Worcester, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Worcester has about 590 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Worcester and Montpelier trade workers both ways
Montpelier is the top workplace for Worcester residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Worcester come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Worcester workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 396 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Worcester: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 393 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 590 people are in Worcester on a workday afternoon, 38% 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.
Commuting out of Worcester: the destinations
Where Worcester clocks in
19% of workers
9% 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.
How long Worcester spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Worcester workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 373 commuters (the 24% 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.
In Worcester, 35% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Worcester, 2013 → 2023: 81 → 37. 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 Worcester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Worcester commutes
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.
Worcester and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Middlesex (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Worcester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | – | — | — | 29 min | $73,833 |
| Stowe | under 3% | B− | B+ | 19 min | $93,618 |
| Calais | under 3% | B− | D− | 31 min | $100,625 |
| Middlesex | 6% | A− | B− | 27 min | $109,632 |
| Elmore | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Elmore: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Worcester’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 Worcester: questions
What is the median household income in Worcester?
$73,833 (±$18,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Worcester?
5.9%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Worcester?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Worcester work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montpelier (19%, 11 mi), Burlington (9%, 32 mi), Berlin (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Worcester without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Worcester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Worcester
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.