Work & commute · Burlington

Work & commute in Burlington, VT

44% of Burlington’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are South Burlington (13%), Colchester (6%) and Williston (5%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44%

7,474 of 17,129 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,655 Burlington residents head out of town to work, 7,474 work right here, and 24,646 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Burlington.

9,655live here, work elsewhere

7,474live and work here

24,646work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Burlington goes to work

Burlington (in town)right here

44%7,474

South Burlington4.8 mi away

13%2,253

Colchester4.3 mi away

6%992

Williston8.3 mi away

5%886

Essex9.9 mi away

3%446

Essex Junction6.2 mi away

2%425

Winooski2.7 mi away

2%403

Shelburne7.1 mi away

2%371

Montpelier36.5 mi away

1%254

Hartford71.2 mi away

1%244

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%3,381

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

How far

How far Burlington commutes

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

78%

78%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Burlington is a job hub

1.88jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Burlington are

32,120 jobs are based in Burlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Burlington

32,120 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Burlington residents hold

17,129 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+1%

Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 31,669 → 32,120. 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.