Photo: Coconino National Forest · Public domainHouseholds in Fort Valley have higher incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Fort Valley grades B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. The poverty rate is 5.2% (Arizona 12.5%). Only 1% stay in Fort Valley for work; outside it, Flagstaff is the main destination (54%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Fort Valley in brief
Fort Valley and Flagstaff trade workers both ways
Flagstaff is the top workplace for Fort Valley residents (54%) and also where the most people who work in Fort Valley come from (44% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Fort Valley
65% of Fort Valley residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Fort Valley pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 781 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Fort Valley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Fort Valley is better than 75% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Fort Valley’s grade up ($125,625, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (0.6%) is left out: Fort Valley’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fort Valley could be anywhere from C− to A.
Out of Fort Valley to work: where people go
Where Fort Valley clocks in
54% of workers
7% 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.
In Fort Valley, services account for most jobs
394 jobs are based in Fort Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Valley, 2014 → 2024: 329 → 394. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fort Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Fort Valley commutes less than 8 miles
About 33% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily flow of workers through Fort Valley
On a workday 772 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 385 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Fort Valley on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.50 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip from Fort Valley: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Valley workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 665 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across Arizona: 82% 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 Fort Valley, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fort Valley is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.9% across Arizona.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 790 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 2% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% 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). 0.0% of Fort Valley households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fort Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 6,085 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400, Fort Valley comes 973rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 971 | Oakham MA | 1,917 | $102K | 4.4% | 2.5% | 3% | B+ |
| 972 | Rubicon WI | 2,158 | $99K | 9.9% | 2.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 973 | Fort Valley AZ | 1,761 | $126K | 5.2% | 0.6% | 1% | B+ |
| 974 | Maineville OH | 1,518 | $93K | 9.5% | 2.5% | 0% | B+ |
| 975 | Ten Mile Township KS | 1,611 | $122K | 12.5% | 2.4% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,207 | Centennial Park AZ | 1,839 | $168K | 3.5% | 2.5% | 26% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,230 | Bellemont AZ | 1,701 | $120K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,346 | Rio Verde AZ | 2,261 | $132K | 6.3% | 0.0% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | 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 Fort Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
Work next door: 56% of Fort Valley’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fort Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Valley | – | B+ | D | 19 min | $125,625 |
| Flagstaff | 54% | B− | A+ | 17 min | $71,512 |
| Bellemont | 2% | B+ | C− | 35 min | $119,722 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Flagstaff. Darker towns draw more of Fort Valley’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 2024, 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 Fort Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Valley?
$125,625 (±$90,837) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Valley?
5.2%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Valley?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fort Valley work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Flagstaff (54%, 12 mi), Phoenix (7%, 123 mi), Tusayan (3%, 49 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fort Valley walkable?
Fort Valley is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fort Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Valley
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.