Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY 3.0West Fork has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
348 jobs are based in West Fork; 1,053 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income West Fork is better than 73% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (D). Only 3% stay in West Fork for work; outside it, Fayetteville is the main destination (44%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
West Fork at work: what stands out
44% of West Fork works in Fayetteville
459 working residents, 44%, have their main job in Fayetteville, 9.5 miles away. That’s 15 times as many as work in West Fork itself. The commute map ↓
West Fork empties out on a workday
About 1,700 people are in West Fork on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 2,400 who live here: 1,000 head out to work and 320 come in. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in West Fork
The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.1%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($77,566, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Fork could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where people from West Fork work
Where West Fork clocks in
44% 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.
West Fork quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,023 residents head out to work, 30 work right here, and 318 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in West Fork on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in West Fork
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Fork, 2013 → 2023: 414 → 348. 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 West Fork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from West Fork: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Fork workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,553 commuters (the 6% 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 West Fork
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.
The commute in West Fork 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 1,654 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.4% of West Fork households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Fork’s commuters take a bus or train.
How West Fork ranks: 1,050th of 4,995 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Avilla AR | 1,833 | $106K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | Goshen AR | 2,405 | $150K | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 335 | Salem AR | 2,642 | $74K | 2.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,048 | Keene Township MI | 1,749 | $96K | 7.7% | 3.3% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,049 | Trenton WI | 1,944 | $110K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,050 | West Fork AR | 2,373 | $78K | 3.1% | 3.5% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,051 | Itasca TX | 1,970 | $77K | 6.8% | 1.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,052 | Splendora TX | 2,146 | $85K | 13.5% | 1.9% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 West Fork, 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 West Fork: questions
What is the median household income in West Fork?
$77,566 (±$15,696) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Fork?
3.1%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Fork?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Fork work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fayetteville (44%, 10 mi), Springdale (13%, 18 mi), Bentonville (6%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Fork walkable?
West Fork is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Fork without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Fork, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Fork
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.