Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0Households in Blytheville have lower incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 24.2% of residents, against 16.0% across Arkansas. The two grades for Blytheville are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in three work in Blytheville; the top destination outside it is Osceola (7%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Blytheville apart
Commutes from Blytheville are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 23 across Arkansas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Arkansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Blytheville workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 9% across Arkansas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Blytheville’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blytheville is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #104 of 123 in Arkansas. Job access by car holds Blytheville’s grade up (ahead of 27% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.2%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blytheville could be anywhere from D− to D.
A commute of about 16 minutes in Blytheville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blytheville workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,420 commuters (the 2% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Blytheville
On a workday 3,385 residents head out to work, 1,847 work right here, and 4,190 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Blytheville’s working residents head each day
Where Blytheville clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
What Blytheville’s employers do
6,037 jobs are based in Blytheville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blytheville, 2014 → 2024: 6,509 → 6,037. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Blytheville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Blytheville 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Blytheville: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blytheville is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #41 of 123 in Arkansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Arkansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,554 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). 13.6% of Blytheville households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blytheville’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, and where Blytheville sits
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 322 | Pea Ridge AR | 11,233 | $96K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 404 | Farmington AR | 10,658 | $90K | 3.8% | 0.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 446 | Lowell AR | 12,184 | $96K | 6.9% | 1.4% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,326 | Ozark AL | 14,269 | $49K | 28.1% | 9.1% | 25% | D |
| 2,327 | Cedartown GA | 10,514 | $35K | 30.7% | 6.8% | 17% | D |
| 2,328 | Blytheville AR | 12,227 | $48K | 24.2% | 9.2% | 35% | D |
| 2,329 | Blythe CA | 15,042 | $57K | 18.9% | 11.7% | 35% | D |
| 2,330 | West Point MS | 9,743 | $38K | 25.6% | 11.6% | 29% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Blytheville, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
The towns around Blytheville
The biggest share goes to Gosnell (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blytheville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blytheville | – | D | B− | 16 min | $47,865 |
| Gosnell | 4% | C | D− | 22 min | $61,130 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blytheville’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Blytheville: questions
What is the median household income in Blytheville?
$47,865 (±$9,210) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blytheville?
24.2%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blytheville?
16 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blytheville work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Osceola (7%, 18 mi), Jonesboro (5%, 44 mi), Gosnell (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Blytheville walkable?
Blytheville is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blytheville without a car?
0% 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 Blytheville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blytheville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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. 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.