Work & commute · Westford

Work & commute in Westford, MA

Most working residents leave Westford for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Boston (11%), Lowell (5%) and Burlington (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,290 of 12,041 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,751 Westford residents head out of town to work, 1,290 work right here, and 9,847 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Westford.

10,751live here, work elsewhere

1,290live and work here

9,847work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Westford goes to work

Boston27.9 mi away

11%1,293

Westford (in town)right here

11%1,290

Lowell7.1 mi away

5%588

Burlington13.4 mi away

4%483

Chelmsford3.7 mi away

4%470

Cambridge21.9 mi away

4%466

Waltham16.9 mi away

4%450

Andover14.8 mi away

3%372

Billerica9.3 mi away

3%346

Bedford10.1 mi away

3%325

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%5,958

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

How far

How far Westford commutes

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

30%

49%

17%

30%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Westford is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Westford are

11,137 jobs are based in Westford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Westford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Westford

11,137 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Westford residents hold

12,041 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month77%

+8%

Jobs based in Westford, 2013 → 2023: 10,321 → 11,137. 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.