Work & commute · Worcester

Work & commute in Worcester, MA

About one in 3 of Worcester’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Boston (6%), Marlborough (3%) and Framingham (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

29,203 of 79,976 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 50,773 Worcester residents head out of town to work, 29,203 work right here, and 69,373 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Worcester.

50,773live here, work elsewhere

29,203live and work here

69,373work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Worcester goes to work

Worcester (in town)right here

37%29,203

Boston40.8 mi away

6%4,609

Marlborough14.4 mi away

3%2,734

Framingham19.2 mi away

3%2,448

Westborough9.9 mi away

3%2,334

Shrewsbury4.9 mi away

3%2,227

Auburn5.3 mi away

2%1,624

Northborough9.1 mi away

2%1,233

Oxford10.2 mi away

1%937

Leominster17.5 mi away

1%879

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%31,748

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

How far

How far Worcester commutes

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

49%

22%

24%

49%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Worcester is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Worcester are

98,576 jobs are based in Worcester. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Worcester’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Worcester

98,576 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Worcester residents hold

79,976 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+8%

Jobs based in Worcester, 2013 → 2023: 90,897 → 98,576. 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.