Constitution Hall · Photo: Durkeeco · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in College have higher incomes than those in 61% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 16 minutes each way (Alaska 19, U.S. 26). 6.5% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.1% across Alaska. The two grades for College are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: College’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, College is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #8 of 41 in Alaska. The poverty rate holds College’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, College could be anywhere from C to A−.
The daily trip from College: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of College workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,303 commuters (the 5% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: College
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, College is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #14 of 41 in Alaska. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 16.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 9.9% across Alaska, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,574 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). 5.9% of College households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of College’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, College is 1,498th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,496 | Azle TX | 15,365 | $69K | 12.2% | 4.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,497 | Cicero Township IN | 8,043 | $67K | 13.0% | 2.2% | 24% | B |
| 1,498 | College AK | 11,924 | $84K | 6.5% | 4.4% | — | B |
| 1,499 | Haysville KS | 11,353 | $68K | 11.9% | 3.7% | 8% | B |
| 1,500 | Orrville OH | 8,461 | $73K | 15.2% | 3.0% | 25% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,700 | Tanaina AK | 9,646 | $106K | 8.6% | 4.9% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,844 | North Lakes AK | 10,223 | $102K | 7.3% | 7.1% | — | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,859 | Kalifornsky AK | 8,663 | $94K | 8.6% | 5.2% | — | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 College, 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 College: questions
What is the median household income in College?
$83,895 (±$7,673) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in College?
6.5%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from College?
16 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Is College walkable?
College is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around College without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from College, from the people who make the trip.
More of College
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.