Waldo Water Tower · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Waldo trail those of 96% of U.S. towns
Only 1% stay in Waldo for work; outside it, Magnolia is the main destination (37%, 7 miles). 23.7% of residents are in poverty; Arkansas has 16.0%. The two grades for Waldo are D− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Waldo: the figures worth knowing
Waldo and Magnolia trade workers both ways
Magnolia is the top workplace for Waldo residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Waldo come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Waldo workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 23 across Arkansas. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 130 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Waldo is a place people come home to
There are 96 jobs based in Waldo, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
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; with 358 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Waldo
On income, poverty and job access, Waldo is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Waldo’s grade.
Unemployment (3.7%) is left out: Waldo’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Waldo could be anywhere from D− to D.
The towns that employ Waldo’s residents
Where Waldo clocks in
37% 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.
Each way, about 40 minutes from Waldo
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waldo workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 413 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.
In and out of Waldo on a workday
On a workday 354 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 92 people come in from elsewhere.
About 840 people are in Waldo on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.27 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.
Inside Waldo’s 96 jobs
96 jobs are based in Waldo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waldo, 2013 → 2023: 122 → 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 Waldo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Waldo’s workers travel
About 25% 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.
Waldo is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waldo is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Waldo near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 422 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). 14.6% of Waldo households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waldo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waldo and other U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Roland AR | 1,147 | $175K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 315 | Wooster AR | 1,150 | $112K | 5.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,006 | Redfield AR | 1,492 | $72K | 8.3% | 3.0% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,599 | Wirt NY | 1,005 | $42K | 21.2% | 5.3% | 1% | D− |
| 3,600 | Kaibab Estates West AZ | 1,403 | $39K | 16.5% | 2.7% | 0% | D− |
| 3,601 | Waldo AR | 1,100 | $41K | 23.7% | 3.7% | 1% | D− |
| 3,602 | Enigma GA | 1,106 | $32K | 49.7% | 1.8% | <1% | D− |
| 3,603 | Vienna IL | 1,352 | $41K | 33.6% | 1.2% | 16% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Waldo, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
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 Waldo: questions
What is the median household income in Waldo?
$40,500 (±$19,025) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waldo?
23.7%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waldo?
40 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waldo work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Magnolia (37%, 7 mi), Camden (8%, 30 mi), El Dorado (3%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waldo walkable?
Waldo is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waldo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waldo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waldo
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.