Work & commute · Somerville

Work & commute in Somerville, MA

Most working residents leave Somerville for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (35%), Cambridge (19%) and Waltham (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3,492 of 43,067 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

31%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 39,575 Somerville residents head out of town to work, 3,492 work right here, and 27,876 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Somerville.

39,575live here, work elsewhere

3,492live and work here

27,876work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Somerville goes to work

Boston6 mi away

35%14,951

Cambridge1.3 mi away

19%8,206

Somerville (in town)right here

8%3,492

Waltham7.2 mi away

3%1,242

Medford2.4 mi away

2%991

Newton6.8 mi away

2%693

Lexington7.6 mi away

2%674

Woburn7.3 mi away

1%619

Burlington9.3 mi away

1%611

Watertown4.2 mi away

1%412

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%11,176

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

How far

How far Somerville commutes

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

82%

12%

82%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

3%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Somerville is a commuter town

0.73jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Somerville are

31,368 jobs are based in Somerville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Somerville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Somerville

31,368 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Somerville residents hold

43,067 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month78%

+48%

Jobs based in Somerville, 2013 → 2023: 21,222 → 31,368. 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.