Photo: Justin Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Wasilla (8.2%) is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 30 minutes each way; Alaska averages 19, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Wasilla is better than 13% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (B+). Measured by household income, Wasilla is behind 62% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How Wasilla earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income holds Wasilla’s grade up ($67,234, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wasilla could be anywhere from D to C.
The trip to work from Wasilla: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wasilla workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,577 commuters (the 8% 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.
Getting around Wasilla: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 9.9% across Alaska.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,900 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). 14.3% of Wasilla households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Wasilla’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wasilla and other U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,564 | College AK | 11,924 | $84K | 6.5% | 4.4% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,798 | Tanaina AK | 9,646 | $106K | 8.6% | 4.9% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,809 | Ketchikan AK | 7,939 | $85K | 11.2% | 4.0% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,637 | Clinton SC | 7,918 | $45K | 27.7% | 4.9% | 14% | D |
| 2,638 | Union City TN | 10,814 | $51K | 23.5% | 5.3% | 42% | D |
| 2,639 | Wasilla AK | 10,556 | $67K | 17.5% | 8.2% | — | D |
| 2,640 | West Plains MO | 12,780 | $44K | 28.1% | 4.2% | 53% | D |
| 2,641 | Marion NC | 7,440 | $51K | 23.5% | 5.4% | 21% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Wasilla, 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 Wasilla: questions
What is the median household income in Wasilla?
$67,234 (±$11,368) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wasilla?
17.5%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wasilla?
30 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Is Wasilla walkable?
Wasilla is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wasilla without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wasilla, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wasilla
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.