Photo: Photolitherland · CC BY-SA 3.0Norfork at work: jobs, income and the commute
Only 3% stay in Norfork for work; outside it, Mountain Home is the main destination (38%, 10 miles). Home is the office for 1% of workers (Arkansas 9%). A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes, where Arkansas has 23 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Norfork on a workday afternoon
On a workday 140 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 92 people come in from elsewhere.
About 430 people are in Norfork on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.67 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 Norfork to work: where people go
Where Norfork clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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 the 96 jobs in Norfork are
96 jobs are based in Norfork.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norfork, 2013 → 2023: 150 → 96. 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 Norfork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way, about the AR average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norfork workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 216 commuters (the 1% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Norfork
About 27% 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.
Around Norfork: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norfork workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfork | – | — | — | 22 min | $32,167 |
| Salesville | 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Salesville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Salesville. Darker towns draw more of Norfork’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 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 Norfork: questions
What is the median household income in Norfork?
$32,167 (±$11,772) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norfork?
39.4%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norfork?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norfork work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mountain Home (38%, 10 mi), Flippin (3%, 18 mi), Bentonville (3%, 109 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Norfork without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norfork, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norfork
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.