Photo: Paltron · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Black Rock
Working residents average 28 minutes each way, where Arkansas has 23 and the U.S. 26. Only 4% work in Black Rock itself; outside it, Jonesboro draws the most (11%, 31 miles). Black Rock has 98 jobs; 150 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Black Rock
On a workday 144 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 92 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.65 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Black Rock work
Where Black Rock clocks in
11% of workers
11% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Goods jobs make up 69% of work in Black Rock
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Black Rock, 2013 → 2023: 81 → 98. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Black Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Black Rock takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Black Rock workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 250 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% 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.
How many miles Black Rock commutes
About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. 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 Black Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Black Rock?
$52,019 (±$16,243) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Black Rock?
30.5%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Black Rock?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Black Rock work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jonesboro (11%, 31 mi), Pocahontas (11%, 13 mi), Walnut Ridge (9%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Black Rock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Black Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Black Rock
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.