Photo: Richard N Horne · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Payson (7.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
Payson grades C− for jobs and income and C for walkability. About one in three work in Payson; the top destination outside it is Phoenix (20%, 64 miles). Commuters spend 19 minutes getting to work on average, next to 25 for Arizona and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Payson, in brief
A big share show a job far from home
62% 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 ↓
Payson’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Payson is Phoenix, 64 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (1,109) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Payson are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across Arizona. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Arizona worker. 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.
What’s behind Payson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Payson is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #98 of 140 in Arizona. The poverty rate holds Payson’s grade up (11.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Payson could be anywhere from D to C+.
The distance from Payson to work
About 62% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
From Payson, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Payson workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,794 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Payson on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,756 residents head out to work, 1,851 work right here, and 2,334 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.75 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.
Commuting out of Payson: the destinations
Where Payson clocks in
20% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Payson: what the 4,185 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Payson, 2013 → 2023: 3,501 → 4,185. 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 Payson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Payson, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Payson is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #100 of 140 in Arizona. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of 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 5,567 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). 6.7% of Payson households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Payson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Payson next to U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Paradise Valley AZ | 12,251 | $247K | 5.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Vail AZ | 16,315 | $131K | 4.3% | 1.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 526 | Anthem AZ | 22,584 | $121K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,821 | Lewisburg TN | 13,517 | $48K | 19.9% | 5.5% | 30% | C− |
| 1,822 | Thomasville GA | 18,667 | $50K | 17.1% | 5.9% | 42% | C− |
| 1,823 | Payson AZ | 16,693 | $68K | 11.0% | 7.1% | 33% | C− |
| 1,824 | Dunkirk NY | 12,326 | $53K | 24.3% | 4.7% | 31% | C− |
| 1,825 | Corinth MS | 14,345 | $44K | 18.7% | 4.7% | 35% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | 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 Payson, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
Work in the towns next to Payson
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Payson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | – | C− | C | 19 min | $67,710 |
| Star Valley | under 2% | B− | B+ | 15 min | $65,426 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Payson’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 Payson: questions
What is the median household income in Payson?
$67,710 (±$6,943) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Payson?
11.0%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Payson?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Payson work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Phoenix (20%, 64 mi), Mesa (5%, 63 mi), Scottsdale (5%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Payson walkable?
Payson is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Payson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Payson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Payson
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.