Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0More people are out of work in American Falls (7.3%) than in 84% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers; Idaho has 13%. American Falls grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
American Falls and work: the main findings
American Falls’ Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, American Falls is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #51 of 59 in Idaho. The poverty rate holds American Falls’ grade up (10.8%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, American Falls could be anywhere from D to B−.
The trip to work from American Falls: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of American Falls workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,885 commuters (the 5% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of American Falls
On a workday 1,394 residents head out to work, 441 work right here, and 803 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,200 people are in American Falls on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
Where the trip to work from American Falls ends
Where American Falls clocks in
4% of workers
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.
Inside American Falls’ 1,244 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in American Falls, 2013 → 2023: 1,130 → 1,244. 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 American Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from American Falls
About 22% 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.
American Falls is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, American Falls is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #9 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place American Falls near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,990 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). 5.4% of American Falls households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of American Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
American Falls next to U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,500: 3,369th of 3,946 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 732 | Hidden Springs ID | 3,378 | $163K | 7.2% | 4.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,111 | Ketchum ID | 3,643 | $93K | 5.2% | 0.0% | 37% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,403 | Rigby ID | 5,757 | $85K | 9.7% | 2.2% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,367 | Canaan NH | 3,833 | $82K | 13.6% | 9.6% | 13% | C− |
| 3,368 | Valley Grande AL | 3,903 | $59K | 25.3% | 3.9% | 4% | C− |
| 3,369 | American Falls ID | 4,785 | $58K | 10.8% | 7.3% | 24% | C− |
| 3,370 | Maquoketa IA | 6,027 | $60K | 14.2% | 8.6% | 34% | C− |
| 3,371 | Rockingham VT | 4,697 | $71K | 16.7% | 7.8% | 22% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,946 | 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 American Falls, 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 American Falls: questions
What is the median household income in American Falls?
$57,783 (±$10,429) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in American Falls?
10.8%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from American Falls?
14 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in American Falls work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pocatello (13%, 21 mi), Boise City (4%, 179 mi), Idaho Falls (3%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is American Falls walkable?
American Falls is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around American Falls without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from American Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of American Falls
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.