Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in New River top those of 92% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 27% of workers, next to 18% for Arizona as a whole. 6.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 12.5% for Arizona as a whole. Jobs and income earn New River A−; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in New River: the gist
Jobs in New River have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in New River went from 1,112 in 2013 to 2,262 in 2023, +103%. The jobs ↓
Nearly half of New River works in Phoenix
3,937 working residents, 49%, have their main job in Phoenix, 22 miles away across the town line. That’s 10 times as many as work in New River itself. The commute map ↓
New River workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 25 across Arizona. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (26 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
New River makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in New River are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs New River residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in New River
27% of New River workers work from home, against 18% across Arizona. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind New River’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New River is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #12 of 140 in Arizona. Household income is its strongest input ($134,289, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New River could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Making and building: 42% of jobs based in New River
2,262 jobs are based in New River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New River, 2013 → 2023: 1,112 → 2,262. 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 New River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
49% of working residents work in Phoenix
Where New River clocks in
49% of workers
11% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from New River: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New River workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,293 commuters (the 27% 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.
New River on a workday afternoon
On a workday 7,600 residents head out to work, 434 work right here, and 1,828 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in New River on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.28 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.
The distance from New River to work
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.
New River is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New River is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #91 of 140 in Arizona. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.9% across Arizona, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,934 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). 1.3% of New River households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of New River’s commuters take a bus or train.
How New River ranks: 539th of 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 330 | Vail AZ | 16,315 | $131K | 4.3% | 1.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 510 | Anthem AZ | 22,584 | $121K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 537 | Florence Township NJ | 13,385 | $106K | 5.7% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| 538 | Dover Township PA | 24,395 | $81K | 7.2% | 1.4% | 6% | A− |
| 539 | New River AZ | 18,240 | $134K | 6.3% | 3.0% | 5% | A− |
| 540 | Pataskala OH | 18,529 | $92K | 6.5% | 3.2% | 5% | A− |
| 541 | Cinnaminson Township NJ | 17,930 | $128K | 4.2% | 7.1% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 551 | Tanque Verde AZ | 15,866 | $122K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 New River, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
52% of New River works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Phoenix (49%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New River | – | A− | C+ | 34 min | $134,289 |
| Phoenix | 49% | B | A | 26 min | $81,332 |
| Anthem | 1% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $120,613 |
| Cave Creek | 2% | B+ | B+ | 30 min | $107,067 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New River’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 New River: questions
What is the median household income in New River?
$134,289 (±$14,675) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New River?
6.3%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New River?
34 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New River work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Phoenix (49%, 22 mi), Scottsdale (11%, 19 mi), Tempe (5%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New River walkable?
New River is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New River without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New River, from the people who make the trip.
More of New River
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.