Photo: Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Region · Public domainAt 3.1%, unemployment in Big Lake is lower than in 68% of U.S. towns
22% of workers have no commute at all, where Alaska as a whole has 10%. The two grades for Big Lake are C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Measured by household income, Big Lake is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Big Lake
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Big Lake is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #25 of 41 in Alaska. Unemployment holds Big Lake’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 2% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Big Lake could be anywhere from C− to B.
About 43 minutes to work from Big Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Lake workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,280 commuters (the 22% who work from home are left out). Across Alaska: 72% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
For most of Big Lake, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Lake is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns, #35 of 41 in Alaska. Both inputs place Big Lake near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,641 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.5% of Big Lake households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Big Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,678th of 4,355: where Big Lake ranks among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,607 | Goldstream AK | 3,294 | $104K | 4.7% | 3.7% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,619 | Mill Bay AK | 3,654 | $89K | 9.0% | 0.0% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,982 | Butte AK | 4,085 | $101K | 6.7% | 3.6% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,676 | Marquette Township MI | 4,196 | $58K | 10.5% | 3.0% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,677 | Goshen Township OH | 3,051 | $61K | 4.6% | 12.9% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,678 | Big Lake AK | 3,585 | $81K | 11.4% | 3.1% | — | C+ |
| 2,679 | Manitou Springs CO | 4,577 | $85K | 11.2% | 11.8% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,680 | Cokato MN | 2,793 | $70K | 14.4% | 3.2% | 21% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Big Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Alaska.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Big Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Big Lake?
$81,406 (±$14,976) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Lake?
11.4%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Lake?
43 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Is Big Lake walkable?
Big Lake is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Lake
Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.