About two in five of Rockwell’s working residents commute to Hot Springs
The trip to work takes 21 minutes on average; Arkansas averages 23, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Rockwell is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (C). Only 4% work in Rockwell; the top destination outside it is Hot Springs (41%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rockwell in brief
Rockwell has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rockwell went from 603 in 2013 to 1,070 in 2023, +77%. The jobs ↓
Most Rockwell residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Rockwell’s grade
Unemployment holds Rockwell’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($63,500, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockwell could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Jobs in Rockwell: what the 1,070 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockwell, 2013 → 2023: 603 → 1,070. 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 Rockwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Rockwell
About 22% 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.
Who commutes out of Rockwell, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,755 residents head out to work, 79 work right here, and 991 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Rockwell on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.58 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 Rockwell’s working residents head each day
Where Rockwell clocks in
41% of workers
11% 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.
About 21 minutes each way, about the AR average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockwell workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,376 commuters (the 9% 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 commute in Rockwell is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,514 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). 0.8% of Rockwell households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockwell is 2,285th of 4,177 U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Johnson AR | 3,684 | $96K | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 222 | Austin AR | 4,017 | $114K | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 417 | Highfill AR | 3,676 | $93K | 4.2% | 0.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,283 | Dover FL | 3,009 | $50K | 23.5% | 1.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,284 | Worthington Township OH | 2,987 | $74K | 4.5% | 5.6% | 4% | B− |
| 2,285 | Rockwell AR | 3,986 | $64K | 11.6% | 3.0% | 4% | B− |
| 2,286 | Benson NC | 4,660 | $67K | 14.4% | 2.9% | 7% | B− |
| 2,287 | Brookfield MA | 3,516 | $81K | 8.9% | 6.3% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Rockwell, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
45% of Rockwell works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockwell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockwell | – | B− | C | 21 min | $63,500 |
| Hot Springs | 41% | C− | A− | 17 min | $47,760 |
| Piney | 4% | D | B | 16 min | $50,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Hot Springs. Darker towns draw more of Rockwell’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 Rockwell: questions
What is the median household income in Rockwell?
$63,500 (±$16,562) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockwell?
11.6%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockwell?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockwell work?
4% work in town.
Is Rockwell walkable?
Rockwell is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockwell 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 Rockwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockwell
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. 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.