Photo: DPPed · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Phoenix (5.0%) than in 61% of U.S. towns
Phoenix grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. More than half work in Phoenix; the top destination outside it is Scottsdale (10%, 15 miles). Working residents average 26 minutes each way, about the same as across Arizona.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Phoenix in brief
Phoenix’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Phoenix is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #37 of 140 in Arizona. Job access by car holds Phoenix’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
The Arizona figures include the city itself, home to 23% of the state’s residents, so the city and state figures are partly the same people.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Phoenix stays B.
Who works in Phoenix, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 320,252 residents head out to work, 389,977 work right here, and 569,532 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,915,000 people are in Phoenix on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).
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 towns that employ Phoenix’s residents
Where Phoenix clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
4% 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.
65% of the jobs in Phoenix pay over $3,333 a month
959,509 jobs are based in Phoenix.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Phoenix, 2013 → 2023: 799,399 → 959,509. 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 Phoenix’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Phoenix takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Phoenix workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 671,315 commuters (the 19% 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.
Where in the region Phoenix works
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.
Phoenix is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Phoenix is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #7 of 140 in Arizona. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 829,070 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 6.6% of Phoenix households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Phoenix’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
The towns next door employ 26% of Phoenix
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Phoenix workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | – | B | A | 26 min | $81,332 |
| Scottsdale | 10% | A | A− | 22 min | $110,886 |
| Peoria | 2% | A− | B+ | 28 min | $95,815 |
| Glendale | 4% | B− | A− | 28 min | $73,530 |
| Paradise Valley | under 2% | A+ | C | 21 min | $247,159 |
| Tempe | 9% | A− | A+ | 21 min | $79,663 |
| New River | under 2% | A− | C+ | 34 min | $134,289 |
| Cave Creek | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 30 min | $107,067 |
| Maricopa Colony | under 2% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Tolleson | 1% | B | A | 22 min | $59,626 |
| Avondale | under 2% | B+ | B | 28 min | $86,123 |
Same-state neighbors only. Maricopa Colony: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Scottsdale. Darker towns draw more of Phoenix’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 Phoenix: questions
What is the median household income in Phoenix?
$81,332 (±$986) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Phoenix?
13.7%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Phoenix?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Phoenix work?
55% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scottsdale (10%, 15 mi), Tempe (9%, 16 mi), Glendale (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Phoenix walkable?
Phoenix is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Phoenix without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Phoenix, from the people who make the trip.
More of Phoenix
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.