Work & commute · Princeton

Work & commute in Princeton, MA

Most working residents leave Princeton for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Worcester (18%), Boston (6%) and Marlborough (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

106 of 1,749 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

37 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,643 Princeton residents head out of town to work, 106 work right here, and 851 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Princeton.

1,643live here, work elsewhere

106live and work here

851work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Princeton goes to work

Worcester13.2 mi away

18%315

Princeton (in town)right here

6%106

Boston44.9 mi away

6%97

Marlborough18.3 mi away

4%65

Holden6.8 mi away

3%58

Leominster7.1 mi away

3%53

Sterling5.2 mi away

3%44

Fitchburg10.7 mi away

2%33

Framingham24.7 mi away

2%30

West Boylston7.5 mi away

2%30

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%918

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

How far

How far Princeton commutes

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

21%

45%

31%

21%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Princeton 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 Princeton are

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

Jobs based in Princeton

957 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)91%

$1,250 a month or less53%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month34%

Jobs Princeton residents hold

1,749 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month74%

+38%

Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 696 → 957. 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.