Work & commute · Medford

Work & commute in Medford, MA

Most working residents leave Medford for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (32%), Cambridge (12%) and Somerville (4%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2,314 of 29,763 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 27,449 Medford residents head out of town to work, 2,314 work right here, and 19,159 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Medford.

27,449live here, work elsewhere

2,314live and work here

19,159work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Medford goes to work

Boston8 mi away

32%9,398

Cambridge3.4 mi away

12%3,598

Medford (in town)right here

8%2,314

Somerville2.4 mi away

4%1,162

Waltham7.2 mi away

3%767

Woburn5 mi away

3%762

Burlington7.2 mi away

2%625

Lexington6.3 mi away

2%478

Newton8.1 mi away

1%438

Arlington2.8 mi away

1%389

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%9,832

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

How far

How far Medford commutes

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

79%

14%

79%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

3%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Medford is a commuter town

0.72jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Medford are

21,473 jobs are based in Medford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Medford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Medford

21,473 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Medford residents hold

29,763 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month77%

+18%

Jobs based in Medford, 2013 → 2023: 18,193 → 21,473. 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.