Work & commute · Norfolk

Work & commute in Norfolk, MA

Most working residents leave Norfolk for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (24%), Cambridge (4%) and Franklin Town (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

338 of 5,484 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

36 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

33%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,146 Norfolk residents head out of town to work, 338 work right here, and 2,631 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Norfolk.

5,146live here, work elsewhere

338live and work here

2,631work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Norfolk goes to work

Boston22 mi away

24%1,303

Norfolk (in town)right here

6%338

Cambridge20.9 mi away

4%224

Franklin Town4.7 mi away

3%166

Walpole4.3 mi away

3%148

Norwood8.4 mi away

2%134

Waltham19.4 mi away

2%120

Wellesley13.3 mi away

2%114

Wrentham4.6 mi away

2%111

Foxborough5.7 mi away

2%109

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%2,717

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

How far

How far Norfolk commutes

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

27%

60%

27%Under 10 mi

60%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Norfolk is a commuter town

0.54jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Norfolk are

2,969 jobs are based in Norfolk. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Norfolk’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Norfolk

2,969 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Norfolk residents hold

5,484 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month77%

−2%

Jobs based in Norfolk, 2013 → 2023: 3,039 → 2,969. 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.