Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0At 5.0%, unemployment in Caldwell is higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Caldwell; the top destination outside it is Boise City (24%, 22 miles). The two grades for Caldwell are B− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes, where Idaho has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Caldwell in brief
Jobs & income in Caldwell: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Caldwell is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #25 of 59 in Idaho. Job access by car holds Caldwell’s grade up (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Caldwell could be anywhere from C+ to B.
The 19,459 jobs based in Caldwell
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Caldwell, 2013 → 2023: 13,222 → 19,459. 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 Caldwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Caldwell
On a workday 23,337 residents head out to work, 5,206 work right here, and 14,253 people come in from elsewhere.
About 68,000 people are in Caldwell 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 people from Caldwell work
Where Caldwell clocks in
24% of workers
21% 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.
A commute of about 25 minutes in Caldwell
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Caldwell workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26,778 commuters (the 12% 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.
How far it is to work from Caldwell
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.
In Caldwell, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Caldwell is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #27 of 59 in Idaho. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.5% across Idaho.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 30,455 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 40% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 3.6% of Caldwell households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Caldwell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 568 U.S. towns of 54,000 to 103,000, Caldwell comes 392nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 320 | Coeur d'Alene ID | 58,179 | $72K | 9.2% | 2.9% | 44% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 376 | Idaho Falls ID | 71,785 | $73K | 11.5% | 4.2% | 54% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 389 | Twin Falls ID | 56,216 | $61K | 11.4% | 3.0% | 56% | B− |
| 390 | Port Orange FL | 66,395 | $74K | 11.0% | 4.7% | 14% | B− |
| 391 | Indio CA | 94,269 | $77K | 11.5% | 4.8% | 16% | B− |
| 392 | Caldwell ID | 76,629 | $73K | 11.9% | 5.0% | 18% | B− |
| 393 | Westminster CA | 88,966 | $86K | 14.4% | 7.2% | 7% | B− |
| 394 | Council Bluffs IA | 62,680 | $65K | 15.1% | 4.2% | 37% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 568 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Caldwell, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
Caldwell and its neighbors: 21% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Nampa. Darker towns draw more of Caldwell’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 Caldwell: questions
What is the median household income in Caldwell?
$73,058 (±$3,829) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Caldwell?
11.9%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Caldwell?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Caldwell work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boise City (24%, 22 mi), Nampa (21%, 6 mi), Meridian (12%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Caldwell walkable?
Caldwell is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Caldwell without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Caldwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Caldwell
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.