Households in Big River have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
For 9% of workers, the job is at home (California 17%). 20.0% of residents live below the poverty line; California has 12.0%. The two grades for Big River are D− for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Big River stands out on work
A big share show a job far from home
90% 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 ↓
Big River is a place people come home to
There are 26 jobs based in Big River, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Big River are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 123 hours a year less on the road than the typical California 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; with 305 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Big River’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, Big River is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Big River’s grade.
Unemployment (11.3%) is left out: Big River’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Big River could be anywhere from D− to D.
Near or far: the trip to work from Big River
About 90% 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.
How many people are in Big River by day
On a workday 301 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Big River on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.09 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.
From Big River, about 13 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big River workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 359 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
5% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Big River clocks in
3% 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.
In Big River, services account for most jobs
26 jobs are based in Big River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big River, 2013 → 2023: 34 → 26. 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 Big River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Big River, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big River is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across California, on an EPA index of 4.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 394 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). 2.7% of Big River households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Big River’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, and where Big River sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 15 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,678 | Ansted WV | 1,273 | $38K | 27.2% | 2.5% | 6% | D− |
| 3,679 | Ashland ME | 1,186 | $47K | 23.6% | 1.6% | 19% | D− |
| 3,680 | Big River CA | 1,140 | $40K | 20.0% | 11.3% | 1% | D− |
| 3,681 | La Pryor TX | 1,236 | $39K | 24.0% | 11.6% | 12% | D− |
| 3,682 | Clarendon AR | 1,394 | $34K | 23.9% | 7.2% | 22% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Big River, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Big River and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big River | – | D− | C− | 13 min | $39,773 |
| Bluewater | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bluewater: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big River’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 Big River: questions
What is the median household income in Big River?
$39,773 (±$13,940) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big River?
20.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big River?
13 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big River work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (5%, 232 mi), Lake Havasu City (5%, 25 mi), San Diego (3%, 183 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big River walkable?
Big River is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big River without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big River
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.