Unemployment in Meadow Lakes (6.8%) is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 39 minutes on average; Alaska averages 19, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Meadow Lakes is better than 20% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). Household incomes here are higher than in 58% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Meadow Lakes: the grade in detail
Household income holds Meadow Lakes’ grade up ($81,699, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Meadow Lakes could be anywhere from D to C+.
Meadow Lakes’ commute takes about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Meadow Lakes workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,923 commuters (the 12% 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.
The commute in Meadow Lakes is mostly behind the wheel
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 9.9% across Alaska, on an EPA index of 4.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,339 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 Meadow Lakes households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Meadow Lakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,100 to 11,700, Meadow Lakes ranks 2,494th of 2,893 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,077 | Gateway AK | 6,845 | $138K | 4.5% | 3.8% | — | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,664 | Sterling AK | 6,323 | $102K | 4.6% | 5.0% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,751 | South Lakes AK | 6,180 | $98K | 7.6% | 5.2% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,492 | Brown Township OH | 7,280 | $57K | 14.8% | 7.9% | 14% | C− |
| 2,493 | Live Oak CA | 9,466 | $74K | 17.4% | 6.6% | 7% | C− |
| 2,494 | Meadow Lakes AK | 8,689 | $82K | 14.0% | 6.8% | — | C− |
| 2,495 | Sedona AZ | 9,619 | $74K | 14.0% | 6.2% | 39% | C− |
| 2,496 | Cortez CO | 9,126 | $54K | 15.0% | 4.1% | 48% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,893 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Meadow Lakes, 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 Meadow Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Meadow Lakes?
$81,699 (±$7,450) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Meadow Lakes?
14.0%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Meadow Lakes?
39 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Is Meadow Lakes walkable?
Meadow Lakes is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Meadow Lakes 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 Meadow Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Meadow Lakes
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.