Work & commute · New Bedford

Work & commute in New Bedford, MA

About one in 3 of New Bedford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Dartmouth (8%), Fall River (6%) and Boston (5%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

13,154 of 42,579 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 29,425 New Bedford residents head out of town to work, 13,154 work right here, and 18,297 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in New Bedford.

29,425live here, work elsewhere

13,154live and work here

18,297work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where New Bedford goes to work

New Bedford (in town)right here

31%13,154

Dartmouth6.6 mi away

8%3,591

Fall River8.9 mi away

6%2,713

Boston46.6 mi away

5%2,210

Fairhaven3.9 mi away

5%2,102

Taunton18.6 mi away

2%927

Wareham13.8 mi away

2%800

Plymouth22.7 mi away

1%570

Middleborough15.4 mi away

1%520

Westport9.3 mi away

1%477

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%15,515

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

How far

How far New Bedford commutes

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

48%

21%

17%

14%

48%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

New Bedford is a commuter town

0.74jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in New Bedford are

31,451 jobs are based in New Bedford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Bedford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in New Bedford

31,451 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs New Bedford residents hold

42,579 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+6%

Jobs based in New Bedford, 2013 → 2023: 29,702 → 31,451. 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.