Work & commute · Nantucket

Work & commute in Nantucket, MA

68% of Nantucket’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Boston (5%), Barnstable Town (2%) and New Bedford (1%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

68%

4,512 of 6,667 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,155 Nantucket residents head out of town to work, 4,512 work right here, and 1,405 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Nantucket.

2,155live here, work elsewhere

4,512live and work here

1,405work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Nantucket goes to work

Nantucket (in town)right here

68%4,512

Boston85.8 mi away

5%301

Barnstable Town28.6 mi away

2%143

New Bedford50.2 mi away

1%70

Falmouth33.2 mi away

1%46

Brockton72.5 mi away

1%44

Worcester110.8 mi away

1%42

Cambridge91.3 mi away

1%37

Quincy81.6 mi away

1%35

Fall River59.1 mi away

1%34

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%1,403

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

How far

How far Nantucket commutes

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

68%

26%

68%Under 10 mi

0%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Nantucket 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 Nantucket are

5,917 jobs are based in Nantucket. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Nantucket’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Nantucket

5,917 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Nantucket residents hold

6,667 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month74%

+37%

Jobs based in Nantucket, 2013 → 2023: 4,320 → 5,917. 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.