Work & commute · Sterling

Work & commute in Sterling, MA

Most working residents leave Sterling for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Worcester (15%), Boston (7%) and Leominster (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

297 of 3,871 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,574 Sterling residents head out of town to work, 297 work right here, and 2,108 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sterling.

3,574live here, work elsewhere

297live and work here

2,108work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sterling goes to work

Worcester12.4 mi away

15%589

Sterling (in town)right here

8%297

Boston39.7 mi away

7%252

Leominster5 mi away

6%222

Marlborough13.5 mi away

3%118

Clinton5 mi away

2%95

Fitchburg10.8 mi away

2%85

Cambridge33.9 mi away

2%65

West Boylston5.4 mi away

2%64

Holden7.7 mi away

2%62

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%2,022

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

How far

How far Sterling commutes

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

30%

38%

28%

30%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sterling is a commuter town

0.62jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sterling are

2,405 jobs are based in Sterling. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sterling’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sterling

2,405 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)40%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Sterling residents hold

3,871 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+9%

Jobs based in Sterling, 2013 → 2023: 2,213 → 2,405. 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.