Work & commute · Methuen

Work & commute in Methuen, MA

Most working residents leave Methuen for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Lawrence (10%), Boston (9%) and Andover (6%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

2,803 of 25,943 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

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 23,140 Methuen residents head out of town to work, 2,803 work right here, and 11,371 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Methuen.

23,140live here, work elsewhere

2,803live and work here

11,371work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Methuen goes to work

Methuen (in town)right here

11%2,803

Lawrence3.1 mi away

10%2,491

Boston29.5 mi away

9%2,257

Andover6.6 mi away

6%1,662

Haverhill5.4 mi away

4%1,026

Salem, NH3.8 mi away

4%996

Lowell10.2 mi away

3%777

North Andover6.5 mi away

3%708

Woburn17.6 mi away

3%700

Wilmington12.3 mi away

2%647

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%11,876

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

How far

How far Methuen commutes

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

44%

31%

20%

44%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Methuen is a commuter town

0.55jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Methuen are

14,174 jobs are based in Methuen. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Methuen’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Methuen

14,174 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Methuen residents hold

25,943 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+0%

Jobs based in Methuen, 2013 → 2023: 14,125 → 14,174. 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.