Photo: Elnogalense · CC BY-SA 4.0At 10.5%, unemployment in Rio Rico is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Rio Rico for work; outside it, Nogales is the main destination (24%, 10 miles). The two grades for Rio Rico are D for jobs and income and D for walkability. For 7% of workers, the job is at home, where Arizona as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Rio Rico apart
Stores, warehouses and trucking
59% of the jobs in Rio Rico are in trade, transport and utilities, against 32% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Rio Rico and Nogales trade workers both ways
Nogales is the top workplace for Rio Rico residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Rio Rico come from (28% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Rio Rico go to people who live here
Of the 2,792 jobs based in Rio Rico, 47% are held by Rio Rico residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Rio Rico
Household income holds Rio Rico’s grade up ($61,348, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rio Rico could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Inside Rio Rico’s 2,792 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rio Rico, 2014 → 2024: 2,762 → 2,792. 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 Rio Rico’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Rio Rico goes to work
Where Rio Rico clocks in
24% of workers
19% of workers
6% 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.
Rio Rico quiets down on a workday
On a workday 6,870 residents head out to work, 1,322 work right here, and 1,470 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Rio Rico on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Rio Rico
About 37% 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.
From Rio Rico, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rio Rico workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,259 commuters (the 7% 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.
The commute in Rio Rico is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rio Rico is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns, #127 of 140 in Arizona. Both inputs place Rio Rico 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 8,855 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). 1.7% of Rio Rico households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rio Rico’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Rio Rico sits among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 329 | Vail AZ | 16,315 | $131K | 4.3% | 1.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 505 | Anthem AZ | 22,584 | $121K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 537 | New River AZ | 18,240 | $134K | 6.3% | 3.0% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,826 | Klamath Falls OR | 22,111 | $47K | 23.4% | 8.5% | 46% | D |
| 1,827 | Americus GA | 15,617 | $39K | 32.7% | 5.4% | 30% | D |
| 1,828 | Rio Rico AZ | 22,017 | $61K | 16.6% | 10.5% | 16% | D |
| 1,829 | Eloy AZ | 19,967 | $56K | 23.1% | 6.2% | 12% | D |
| 1,830 | Kinston NC | 19,705 | $37K | 27.9% | 16.1% | 32% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Rio Rico, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
Around Rio Rico: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rio Rico workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rico | – | D | D | 28 min | $61,348 |
| Tumacacori-Carmen | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Tumacacori-Carmen: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rio Rico’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 Rio Rico: questions
What is the median household income in Rio Rico?
$61,348 (±$6,370) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rio Rico?
16.6%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rio Rico?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rio Rico work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nogales (24%, 10 mi), Tucson (19%, 46 mi), Phoenix (6%, 157 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Rio Rico walkable?
Rio Rico is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rio Rico without a car?
0% 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 Rio Rico, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rio Rico
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.