Photo: Chris J · CC BY-SA 2.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Maricopa works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn Maricopa B; getting around on foot earns it C+. Maricopa has 5,428 jobs, against 32,758 working residents. Only 8% work in Maricopa; the top destination outside it is Phoenix (30%, 37 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Maricopa stands out on work
Maricopa workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 25 across Arizona. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Maricopa is a place people come home to
There are 5,428 jobs based in Maricopa, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Maricopa has about 51,000 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Maricopa go to people who live here
Of the 5,428 jobs based in Maricopa, 47% are held by Maricopa residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Maricopa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Maricopa went from 3,543 in 2013 to 5,428 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Maricopa
66% of Maricopa residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Maricopa pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Maricopa’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Maricopa is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #39 of 140 in Arizona. Household income holds Maricopa’s grade up ($96,391, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Maricopa could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Each way, about 37 minutes from Maricopa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Maricopa workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,260 commuters (the 22% 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.
Maricopa by day and by night
On a workday 30,182 residents head out to work, 2,576 work right here, and 2,852 people come in from elsewhere.
About 51,000 people are in Maricopa on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
The kinds of work in Maricopa
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Maricopa, 2013 → 2023: 3,543 → 5,428. 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 Maricopa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Maricopa: the destinations
Where Maricopa clocks in
30% of workers
12% of workers
12% 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.
Maricopa’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Few in Maricopa walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Maricopa is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #89 of 140 in Arizona. Both inputs place Maricopa 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 31,201 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). 2.4% of Maricopa households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Maricopa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Maricopa is 339th of 573 U.S. towns of 55,000 to 106,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Queen Creek AZ | 89,770 | $142K | 3.7% | 4.3% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Marana AZ | 65,523 | $113K | 4.9% | 4.5% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 247 | Avondale AZ | 100,983 | $86K | 10.9% | 3.6% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 337 | Haverhill MA | 68,361 | $88K | 11.3% | 5.7% | 17% | B |
| 338 | Smyrna TN | 63,321 | $82K | 12.5% | 5.0% | 14% | B |
| 339 | Maricopa AZ | 78,362 | $96K | 7.4% | 5.0% | 8% | B |
| 340 | Revere MA | 60,141 | $87K | 11.5% | 7.0% | 7% | B |
| 341 | Clinton Township MI | 101,374 | $74K | 10.6% | 5.2% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 573 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Maricopa, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
Work in the towns next to Maricopa
The biggest share goes to Casa Grande (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Maricopa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa | – | B | C+ | 37 min | $96,391 |
| Ak-Chin Village | under 2% | D− | B | 17 min | $47,344 |
| Casa Grande | 2% | C | C+ | 23 min | $69,983 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Maricopa’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 Maricopa: questions
What is the median household income in Maricopa?
$96,391 (±$3,640) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Maricopa?
7.4%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Maricopa?
37 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Maricopa work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Phoenix (30%, 37 mi), Tempe (12%, 24 mi), Chandler (12%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Maricopa walkable?
Maricopa is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Maricopa without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Maricopa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Maricopa
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.