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Work & commute in Kensington · Balanced

93% of Kensington’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Kensington for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Hartford (12%), Berlin (12%) and New Britain (8%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Work in town
7%
325 of 4,595 working residents
Typical commute
9 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
20 min
Less than CT (27 min)
Work from home
14%
Less than CT (16%)
Jobs based here
4,027
Balanced

What kind of work town is Kensington?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Time on the road

About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Connecticut

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
156 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Kensington20 min
Connecticut27 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
14%

of Kensington workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Next door

20% of Kensington works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Berlin (12%). Darker towns draw more of Kensington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Kensington20 min
Berlin21 min
New Britain22 min
Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,270 residents head out to work, 325 work right here, and 3,702 people come in from elsewhere.

4,270live here, work elsewhere
325live and work here
3,702work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night10,000
Workday9,400
10,000live here− 4,300head out to work+ 3,700come in to work= 9,400on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.88jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 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.

The commute map

12% of working residents work in Hartford

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

New Britain: 345 residents work here (8%)Hartford: 541 residents work here (12%)Meriden: 149 residents work here (3%)Middletown: 179 residents work here (4%)BristolBerlin: 533 residents work here (12%)Farmington: 224 residents work here (5%)Rocky Hill: 139 residents work here (3%)Newington: 222 residents work here (5%)Southington: 155 residents work here (3%)West Hartford: 141 residents work here (3%)WethersfieldKensingtonHartfordBerlinNew BritainFarmingtonNewingtonMiddletownKensington
1
Hartford10.7 mi away
12%541
2
Berlin1.5 mi away
12%533
3
New Britain3.6 mi away
8%345
4
Farmington8.1 mi away
5%224
5
Newington4.7 mi away
5%222
6
Middletown7.9 mi away
4%179
7
Southington5.8 mi away
3%155
8
Meriden6.3 mi away
3%149
9
West Hartford9.8 mi away
3%141
10
Rocky Hill5.9 mi away
3%139
Everywhere elseother towns and states
43%1,967
The top trips

Where Kensington clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

How far

Half of Kensington commutes less than 9 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miHartford: 12% · 10.7 miBerlin: 12% · 1.5 miNew Britain: 8% · 3.6 miFarmington: 5% · 8.1 miNewington: 5% · 4.7 miMiddletown: 4% · 7.9 miSouthington: 3% · 5.8 miMeriden: 3% · 6.3 miWest Hartford: 3% · 9.8 miRocky Hill: 3% · 5.9 miHartford 12%Berlin 12%New Britain 8%Farmington 5%Newington 5%Kensington
KensingtonTop destinations (size = commuters)
57%Under 10 mi2,614 residents
30%10–24 mi1,398 residents
8%25–50 mi356 residents
5%Over 50 mi224 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 4,027 jobs in Kensington are

4,027 jobs are based in Kensington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kensington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in KensingtonJobs Kensington residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms20%17%
Trade, transport & utilities12%17%
Services: health, schools, offices67%66%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less16%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month26%18%
Over $3,333 a month58%71%

Who does it

29 or younger20%19%
30 to 5449%51%
55 and older31%30%
−25%

Jobs based in Kensington, 2013 → 2023: 5,379 → 4,027. 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.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Kensington

Kensington home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Kensington, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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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.

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