Work & commute · Cambridge

Work & commute in Cambridge, MA

About one in 3 of Cambridge’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Boston (35%), Somerville (3%) and Waltham (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

16,931 of 53,365 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

31%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 36,434 Cambridge residents head out of town to work, 16,931 work right here, and 131,987 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cambridge.

36,434live here, work elsewhere

16,931live and work here

131,987work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cambridge goes to work

Boston6.1 mi away

35%18,633

Cambridge (in town)right here

32%16,931

Somerville1.3 mi away

3%1,438

Waltham6.3 mi away

3%1,358

Lexington7.4 mi away

2%1,077

Newton5.5 mi away

1%758

Burlington9.8 mi away

1%600

Medford3.4 mi away

1%521

Watertown3.1 mi away

1%517

Woburn8 mi away

1%438

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%11,094

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

How far

How far Cambridge commutes

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

84%

10%

84%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

3%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cambridge is a job hub

2.79jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Cambridge are

148,918 jobs are based in Cambridge. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cambridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Cambridge

148,918 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)92%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month9%

Over $3,333 a month82%

Jobs Cambridge residents hold

53,365 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)87%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month76%

+42%

Jobs based in Cambridge, 2013 → 2023: 105,056 → 148,918. 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.