Work & commute · Waterbury

Work & commute in Waterbury, CT

About one in 4 of Waterbury’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are New York (5%), Cheshire (4%) and Watertown (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

11,012 of 44,062 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 33,050 Waterbury residents head out of town to work, 11,012 work right here, and 24,305 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waterbury.

33,050live here, work elsewhere

11,012live and work here

24,305work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waterbury goes to work

Waterbury (in town)right here

25%11,012

New York, NY77.7 mi away

5%2,072

Cheshire7.6 mi away

4%1,938

Watertown5.7 mi away

4%1,864

Hartford23.3 mi away

3%1,450

New Haven18.1 mi away

3%1,204

Naugatuck4.9 mi away

3%1,150

Southington8.8 mi away

2%1,015

Bristol9.8 mi away

2%992

Meriden12.6 mi away

2%834

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%20,531

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Waterbury commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

46%

33%

12%

10%

46%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waterbury is balanced between jobs and homes

0.80jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Waterbury are

35,317 jobs are based in Waterbury. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waterbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Waterbury

35,317 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Waterbury residents hold

44,062 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−6%

Jobs based in Waterbury, 2013 → 2023: 37,515 → 35,317. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe 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 saysA 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 surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.