For more than half of its working residents, Midland is a commute to Fort Smith
A typical one-way commute lasts 56 minutes, where Arkansas has 23 and the U.S. 26. Hardly any stay in Midland for work; outside it, Fort Smith is the main destination (51%, 18 miles). Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers, against 9% across Arkansas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Midland by day
On a workday 77 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 5 people come in from elsewhere.
About 150 people are in Midland on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.06 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.
Out of Midland to work: where people go
Where Midland clocks in
51% of workers
6% 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.
The 5 jobs based in Midland
5 jobs are based in Midland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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 Midland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Midland: about 56 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 17.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Midland workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 149 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Midland
About 16% 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 Midland: questions
What is the median household income in Midland?
$36,461 (±$1,161) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Midland?
22.5%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Midland?
56 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Midland work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Midland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Midland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Midland
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.