Photo: Ben FrantzDale · CC BY-SA 3.0Window Rock has higher unemployment (8.6%) than 91% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Window Rock is behind 80% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Window Rock D; getting around on foot earns it C+. 24.9% of residents are in poverty, against 12.5% across Arizona.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Window Rock: the gist
Fewer jobs are based in Window Rock than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Window Rock fell from 5,783 in 2013 to 50 in 2023, −99%. 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 ↓
Window Rock is a place people come home to
There are 50 jobs based in Window Rock, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
36% of Window Rock works in St. Michaels
134 working residents, 36%, have their main job in St. Michaels, 2 miles away across the town line. That’s 36 times as many as work in Window Rock itself. The commute map ↓
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 372 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Window Rock: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Window Rock is better than 5% of U.S. towns. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Window Rock’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Window Rock could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
50 jobs are based in Window Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Window Rock, 2013 → 2023: 5,783 → 50. 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 Window Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Window Rock: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 370 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Window Rock on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.13 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.
36% of working residents work in St. Michaels
Where Window Rock clocks in
20% 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.
From Window Rock, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Window Rock workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 775 commuters (the 15% 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 Window Rock
About 28% 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.
Driving is how Window Rock gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Window Rock is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 911 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% 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 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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 Window Rock households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Window Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Window Rock compares with U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 845 | Kachina Village AZ | 3,212 | $90K | 4.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,032 | Fort Valley AZ | 1,761 | $126K | 5.2% | 0.6% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,256 | Centennial Park AZ | 1,839 | $168K | 3.5% | 2.5% | 31% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,813 | Wano Township KS | 1,737 | $54K | 16.5% | 2.4% | 46% | D |
| 4,814 | Harrison ME | 2,639 | $57K | 19.1% | 8.0% | 8% | D |
| 4,815 | Window Rock AZ | 2,477 | $56K | 24.9% | 8.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,816 | Park Hill OK | 3,237 | $47K | 23.7% | 7.5% | 2% | D |
| 4,817 | Clayton GA | 2,089 | $57K | 20.8% | 1.2% | 18% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | 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 Window Rock, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
36% of Window Rock works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Window Rock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window Rock | – | D | C+ | 23 min | $55,694 |
| St. Michaels | 36% | C− | B− | 30 min | $65,556 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to St. Michaels. Darker towns draw more of Window Rock’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 Window Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Window Rock?
$55,694 (±$19,003) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Window Rock?
24.9%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Window Rock?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Window Rock work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Michaels (36%, 2 mi), Fort Defiance (20%, 5 mi), Gallup (6%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Window Rock walkable?
Window Rock is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Window Rock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Window Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Window Rock
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.