Photo: sm85631 · CC BY-SA 4.0San Manuel’s household incomes are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
For <1% of workers, the job is at home, against 18% across Arizona. 22.0% of residents are in poverty; Arizona has 12.5%. San Manuel grades C− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where San Manuel stands out on work
Fewer jobs are based in San Manuel than ten years ago
Jobs counted in San Manuel fell from 977 in 2013 to 294 in 2023, −70%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
San Manuel workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 25 across Arizona. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few San Manuel workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 18% across Arizona. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
San Manuel’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside San Manuel is Tucson, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (198) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
43% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind San Manuel’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Manuel is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #100 of 140 in Arizona. Unemployment holds San Manuel’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, San Manuel could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in San Manuel
294 jobs are based in San Manuel.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Manuel, 2013 → 2023: 977 → 294. 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 San Manuel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
San Manuel’s commute takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Manuel workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,278 commuters (the <1% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from San Manuel
About 43% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of San Manuel
On a workday 1,175 residents head out to work, 156 work right here, and 138 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in San Manuel on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.22 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.
15% of working residents work in Tucson
Where San Manuel clocks in
15% 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.
Driving is how San Manuel gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Manuel is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #122 of 140 in Arizona. Both inputs place San Manuel 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 1,279 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). 2.9% of San Manuel households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of San Manuel’s commuters take a bus or train.
San Manuel next to U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700: 3,841st of 4,535 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 905 | Kachina Village AZ | 3,212 | $90K | 4.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 916 | St. Johns AZ | 3,336 | $132K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,290 | Clifton AZ | 3,752 | $78K | 2.5% | 0.8% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,839 | Wilson's Mills NC | 2,987 | $63K | 31.9% | 10.7% | 1% | C− |
| 3,840 | Columbus TX | 3,821 | $49K | 31.5% | 3.2% | 23% | C− |
| 3,841 | San Manuel AZ | 3,491 | $48K | 22.0% | 2.4% | 12% | C− |
| 3,842 | Pine Manor FL | 3,660 | $46K | 19.2% | 12.2% | 1% | C− |
| 3,843 | Austin IN | 4,254 | $32K | 27.0% | 5.3% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 San Manuel, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
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 San Manuel: questions
What is the median household income in San Manuel?
$48,314 (±$16,129) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Manuel?
22.0%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Manuel?
38 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. <1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Manuel work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tucson (15%, 34 mi), Phoenix (11%, 107 mi), Oro Valley (5%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Manuel walkable?
San Manuel is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Manuel without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Manuel, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Manuel
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.