Work & commute · Townsend

Work & commute in Townsend, MA

Most working residents leave Townsend for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (7%), Leominster (4%) and Fitchburg (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

363 of 4,637 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

37 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,274 Townsend residents head out of town to work, 363 work right here, and 1,460 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Townsend.

4,274live here, work elsewhere

363live and work here

1,460work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Townsend goes to work

Townsend (in town)right here

8%363

Boston42.3 mi away

7%314

Leominster10.4 mi away

4%184

Fitchburg6.8 mi away

3%162

Groton8.3 mi away

3%158

Worcester27.8 mi away

3%150

Lowell19.9 mi away

3%135

Cambridge36.2 mi away

3%134

Chelmsford18 mi away

3%125

Ayer9.7 mi away

3%122

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%2,790

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

How far

How far Townsend commutes

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

25%

33%

36%

25%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Townsend is a commuter town

0.39jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Townsend are

1,823 jobs are based in Townsend. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Townsend’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Townsend

1,823 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Townsend residents hold

4,637 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month70%

+0%

Jobs based in Townsend, 2013 → 2023: 1,822 → 1,823. 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.