Unemployment in Aberdeen (8.0%) is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Aberdeen is better than 17% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers, against 13% across Idaho. About one in seven work in Aberdeen itself; outside it, Pocatello draws the most (13%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Aberdeen
Fewer jobs are based in Aberdeen than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Aberdeen fell from 801 in 2013 to 439 in 2023, −45%. 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 ↓
Many jobs in Aberdeen pay little
28% of the jobs based in Aberdeen pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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 574 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Aberdeen’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income holds Aberdeen’s grade up ($82,619, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aberdeen could be anywhere from D− to B.
Jobs in Aberdeen: what the 439 are
439 jobs are based in Aberdeen.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aberdeen, 2013 → 2023: 801 → 439. 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 Aberdeen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Aberdeen, by distance
About 31% 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.
Who works in Aberdeen, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 494 residents head out to work, 80 work right here, and 359 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 (0.76 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.
The places Aberdeen commutes to
Where Aberdeen clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
About 22 minutes to work from Aberdeen
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aberdeen workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,124 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Idaho: 84% 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.
In Aberdeen, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,145 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). 6.0% of Aberdeen households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Aberdeen’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Aberdeen is 4,224th of 5,656 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 635 | Dalton Gardens ID | 2,496 | $80K | 4.6% | 1.1% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,233 | Groveland ID | 1,422 | $76K | 2.0% | 4.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,497 | Sun Valley ID | 1,776 | $126K | 6.0% | 0.0% | 25% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,222 | Conneaut Township PA | 1,307 | $58K | 10.8% | 0.7% | 2% | C− |
| 4,223 | Shirley Township PA | 2,374 | $50K | 12.3% | 4.4% | 15% | C− |
| 4,224 | Aberdeen ID | 1,852 | $83K | 14.2% | 8.0% | 14% | C− |
| 4,225 | St. Maries ID | 2,457 | $60K | 12.7% | 5.0% | 38% | C− |
| 4,226 | Mountain Lake MN | 1,949 | $66K | 14.3% | 2.5% | 23% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Aberdeen, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
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 Aberdeen: questions
What is the median household income in Aberdeen?
$82,619 (±$21,453) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aberdeen?
14.2%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aberdeen?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aberdeen work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pocatello (13%, 20 mi), Blackfoot (8%, 30 mi), Idaho Falls (7%, 55 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aberdeen walkable?
Aberdeen is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aberdeen without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aberdeen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aberdeen
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.