Work & commute · Chelmsford

Work & commute in Chelmsford, MA

Most working residents leave Chelmsford for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (10%), Lowell (7%) and Billerica (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

2,089 of 18,768 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 16,679 Chelmsford residents head out of town to work, 2,089 work right here, and 19,420 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chelmsford.

16,679live here, work elsewhere

2,089live and work here

19,420work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chelmsford goes to work

Chelmsford (in town)right here

11%2,089

Boston25.8 mi away

10%1,816

Lowell3.8 mi away

7%1,293

Billerica6.1 mi away

4%764

Burlington10.7 mi away

4%732

Cambridge19.9 mi away

3%620

Westford3.7 mi away

3%574

Bedford8.1 mi away

3%558

Andover11.1 mi away

3%546

Waltham15.8 mi away

3%527

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%9,249

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

How far

How far Chelmsford commutes

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

37%

48%

11%

37%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chelmsford is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Chelmsford are

21,509 jobs are based in Chelmsford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chelmsford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chelmsford

21,509 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Chelmsford residents hold

18,768 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month75%

+7%

Jobs based in Chelmsford, 2013 → 2023: 20,147 → 21,509. 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.