Work & commute · Shrewsbury

Work & commute in Shrewsbury, MA

Most working residents leave Shrewsbury for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Worcester (19%), Boston (9%) and Marlborough (5%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,233 of 17,468 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

26%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 16,235 Shrewsbury residents head out of town to work, 1,233 work right here, and 10,988 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Shrewsbury.

16,235live here, work elsewhere

1,233live and work here

10,988work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Shrewsbury goes to work

Worcester4.9 mi away

19%3,318

Boston36 mi away

9%1,627

Shrewsbury (in town)right here

7%1,233

Marlborough9.6 mi away

5%931

Westborough5.3 mi away

5%800

Framingham14.3 mi away

4%685

Northborough4.4 mi away

3%482

Cambridge31.1 mi away

2%420

Waltham25.2 mi away

2%277

Southborough9.5 mi away

2%270

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%7,425

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

How far

How far Shrewsbury commutes

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

44%

22%

30%

44%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Shrewsbury is a commuter town

0.70jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Shrewsbury are

12,221 jobs are based in Shrewsbury. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shrewsbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Shrewsbury

12,221 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities41%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Shrewsbury residents hold

17,468 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month75%

+1%

Jobs based in Shrewsbury, 2013 → 2023: 12,091 → 12,221. 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.