Photo: Public domain · Public domainUnemployment in Williams (5.0%) is higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
11% of workers work from home, next to 18% for Arizona as a whole. For jobs and income Williams is better than 23% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in three work in Williams itself; outside it, Flagstaff draws the most (15%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Williams and work: the main findings
Williams’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Williams is Flagstaff, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (234) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 ↓
Commutes from Williams are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 25 across Arizona. That’s about 38 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.
The four measures behind Williams’ grade
Household income holds Williams’ grade up ($76,136, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Williams could be anywhere from D− to B+.
Short hops and long hauls from Williams
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Williams’ commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Williams workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,207 commuters (the 11% 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 daily commute in and out of Williams
On a workday 1,019 residents head out to work, 561 work right here, and 879 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 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.
Where Williams goes to work
Where Williams clocks in
15% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
The 1,440 jobs based in Williams
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Williams, 2013 → 2023: 1,091 → 1,440. 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 Williams’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Williams gets around
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.9% across Arizona, on an EPA index of 6.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,361 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 4.1% of Williams households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Williams’ commuters take a bus or train.
Williams is 3,513th of 4,535 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,511 | Spring Garden Township IL | 2,522 | $66K | 16.4% | 7.0% | 6% | C− |
| 3,512 | Campbell WI | 4,092 | $60K | 13.7% | 11.4% | 4% | C− |
| 3,513 | Williams AZ | 3,473 | $76K | 13.5% | 5.0% | 36% | C− |
| 3,514 | Attica IN | 3,290 | $69K | 16.6% | 5.5% | 21% | C− |
| 3,515 | Vinton LA | 3,115 | $42K | 32.7% | 3.6% | 13% | 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 Williams, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
The towns around Williams
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Williams’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 Williams: questions
What is the median household income in Williams?
$76,136 (±$19,499) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Williams?
13.5%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Williams?
20 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Williams work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Flagstaff (15%, 32 mi), Grand Canyon Village (9%, 56 mi), Phoenix (8%, 116 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Williams walkable?
Williams is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Williams without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Williams, from the people who make the trip.
More of Williams
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.