Building at 247 Pleasant Avenue · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0Work, pay and getting to work in Challis
About one in five stay in Challis for work; outside it, Mackay is the main destination (14%, 51 miles). For 20% of workers, the job is at home, where Idaho as a whole has 13%. The average commute takes 13 minutes each way; Idaho averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Challis apart on work
Challis’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Challis is Mackay, 51 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (37) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
53% 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 ↓
Commutes from Challis are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 22 across Idaho. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Idaho 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 257 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Challis
About 53% 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.
Each way, about 13 minutes from Challis
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Challis workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 320 commuters (the 20% 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 Challis
On a workday 210 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 367 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Challis on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Challis’s workers come from
Where Challis clocks in
14% of workers
9% 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 Challis’ 414 jobs
414 jobs are based in Challis.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Challis, 2013 → 2023: 314 → 414. 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 Challis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Challis: questions
What is the median household income in Challis?
$40,750 (±$19,196) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Challis?
21.3%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Challis?
13 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Challis work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mackay (14%, 51 mi), Idaho Falls (9%, 130 mi), Stanley (3%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Challis without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Challis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Challis
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.