Hardly anyone in Star Valley is out of work
Measured by household income, Star Valley is behind 65% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Star Valley B−; getting around on foot earns it B+. For 10% of workers, the job is at home (Arizona 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Star Valley apart
A big share show a job far from home
60% 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 ↓
Star Valley and Payson trade workers both ways
Payson is the top workplace for Star Valley residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Star Valley come from (39% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Star Valley is a place people come home to
There are 152 jobs based in Star Valley, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Star Valley has about 1,800 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 843 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Star Valley’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Star Valley is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #45 of 140 in Arizona. Unemployment holds Star Valley’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Star Valley could be anywhere from C to A−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Star Valley
About 60% 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.
34% of working residents work in Payson
Where Star Valley clocks in
34% of workers
19% 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.
A workday in Star Valley: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 828 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 137 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Star Valley on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.18 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.
Goods, not services: 31% of the jobs in Star Valley
152 jobs are based in Star Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Star Valley, 2013 → 2023: 163 → 152. 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 Star Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Star Valley: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Star Valley workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,066 commuters (the 10% 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.
Few in Star Valley walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Star Valley is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #35 of 140 in Arizona. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 13.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.9% across Arizona, on an EPA index of 5.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,180 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). 0.9% of Star Valley households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Star Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Star Valley is 1,973rd of 4,868 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 805 | Kachina Village AZ | 3,212 | $90K | 4.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 817 | St. Johns AZ | 3,336 | $132K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,187 | Centennial Park AZ | 1,839 | $168K | 3.5% | 2.5% | 31% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,971 | Kinsey AL | 2,291 | $56K | 8.5% | 1.8% | 1% | B− |
| 1,972 | Pima AZ | 3,181 | $98K | 5.1% | 4.1% | 18% | B− |
| 1,973 | Star Valley AZ | 2,538 | $65K | 6.2% | 0.0% | 2% | B− |
| 1,974 | Blackhawk SD | 2,934 | $72K | 1.8% | 6.7% | 4% | B− |
| 1,975 | Marshall VA | 3,219 | $94K | 20.6% | 2.8% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Star Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
34% of Star Valley works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Star Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Valley | – | B− | B+ | 15 min | $65,426 |
| Payson | 34% | C− | C | 19 min | $67,710 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Payson. Darker towns draw more of Star Valley’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 Star Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Star Valley?
$65,426 (±$40,256) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Star Valley?
6.2%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Star Valley?
15 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Star Valley work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Payson (34%, 6 mi), Phoenix (19%, 69 mi), Mesa (5%, 66 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Star Valley walkable?
Star Valley is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Star Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Star Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Star Valley
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.