Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Norman, AR
1% of workers have no commute at all (Arkansas 9%). Only 1% work in Norman itself; outside it, Hot Springs draws the most (18%, 36 miles). Working residents average 32 minutes each way, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Norman on a workday afternoon
On a workday 73 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 49 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.
0.68 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 Norman goes to work
Where Norman clocks in
18% of workers
9% 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.
Inside Norman’s 50 jobs
50 jobs are based in Norman.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norman, 2013 → 2023: 57 → 50. 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 Norman’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 32 minutes from Norman
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norman workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 150 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.
Norman’s commute, mile by mile
About 32% 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 Norman: questions
What is the median household income in Norman?
$76,563 (±$30,455) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norman?
20.9%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norman?
32 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norman work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hot Springs (18%, 36 mi), Glenwood (9%, 12 mi), Little Rock (9%, 77 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Norman without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norman, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norman
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.