Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0Apache Junction has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C+: better than 40% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #61 of 140 in Arizona.
Walkability B: more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns · #49 of 140 in Arizona.
Household incomes here are lower than in 72% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Arizona 25, U.S. 26). Only 6% work in Apache Junction; the top destination outside it is Phoenix (24%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Apache Junction, in brief
What’s behind Apache Junction’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Apache Junction is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #61 of 140 in Arizona. Job access by car holds Apache Junction’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Apache Junction could be anywhere from C to B−.
Half of Apache Junction commutes less than 23 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Apache Junction quiets down on a workday
On a workday 17,164 residents head out to work, 1,186 work right here, and 6,473 people come in from elsewhere.
About 35,000 people are in Apache Junction on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.42 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.
24% of working residents work in Phoenix
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Apache Junction clocks in
24% of workers
19% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 7,659 jobs in Apache Junction are
7,659 jobs are based in Apache Junction. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Apache Junction’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Apache Junction, 2013 → 2023: 8,136 → 7,659. 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.
About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Arizona
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Apache Junction workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,588 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Arizona: 82% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Most trips from Apache Junction start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Apache Junction is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #49 of 140 in Arizona. Both inputs place Apache Junction 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 15,752 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). 6.2% of Apache Junction households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Apache Junction’s commuters take a bus or train.
Apache Junction is 756th of 969 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 62,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Apache Junction, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Catalina Foothills AZ | 52,593 | $115K | 4.5% | 2.7% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 328 | Oro Valley AZ | 48,085 | $107K | 6.5% | 2.3% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 644 | Sahuarita AZ | 37,694 | $105K | 8.6% | 6.4% | 11% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 754 | Belleville IL | 40,237 | $64K | 14.6% | 6.1% | 20% | C+ |
| 755 | Aiken SC | 33,808 | $77K | 17.0% | 5.4% | 26% | C+ |
| 756 | Apache Junction AZ | 45,672 | $61K | 10.6% | 6.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 757 | Lancaster OH | 41,956 | $59K | 12.6% | 5.0% | 26% | C+ |
| 758 | Concord Township IN | 56,145 | $55K | 16.5% | 3.9% | 25% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 969 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
20% of Apache Junction works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Mesa (19%). Darker towns draw more of Apache Junction’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Apache Junction workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Junction | – | C+ | B | 28 min | $60,975 |
| Mesa | 19% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $82,752 |
| Gold Canyon | under 2% | A− | C+ | 33 min | $93,377 |
| Queen Creek | 1% | A− | B | 31 min | $141,978 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Apache Junction: questions
What is the median household income in Apache Junction?
$60,975 (±$3,642) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Apache Junction?
10.6%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Apache Junction?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Apache Junction work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Phoenix (24%, 34 mi), Mesa (19%, 10 mi), Tempe (9%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Apache Junction walkable?
Apache Junction is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Apache Junction without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Apache Junction, from the people who make the trip.
More of Apache Junction
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.