Work & commute · Chelsea

Work & commute in Chelsea, MA

Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (37%), Cambridge (6%) and Everett (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,718 of 16,112 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,394 Chelsea residents head out of town to work, 1,718 work right here, and 12,617 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chelsea.

14,394live here, work elsewhere

1,718live and work here

12,617work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chelsea goes to work

Boston4.5 mi away

37%5,942

Chelsea (in town)right here

11%1,718

Cambridge4.7 mi away

6%950

Everett1.3 mi away

3%489

Somerville3.6 mi away

2%343

Woburn8.9 mi away

2%288

Revere2.6 mi away

2%285

Waltham10.8 mi away

2%277

Needham13.4 mi away

1%239

Malden2.7 mi away

1%237

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%5,344

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

How far

How far Chelsea commutes

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

73%

19%

73%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

3%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chelsea is balanced between jobs and homes

0.89jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Chelsea are

14,335 jobs are based in Chelsea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chelsea’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chelsea

14,335 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Chelsea residents hold

16,112 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−0%

Jobs based in Chelsea, 2013 → 2023: 14,378 → 14,335. 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.