Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Emmett (2.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Emmett; the top destination outside it is Boise City (24%, 23 miles). Emmett grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Measured by household income, Emmett is behind 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Emmett apart on work
Emmett’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Emmett is Boise City, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (815) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Emmett has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Emmett went from 1,757 in 2013 to 2,605 in 2023, +48%. The jobs ↓
Emmett workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Idaho. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Emmett
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Emmett is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #32 of 59 in Idaho. Unemployment holds Emmett’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (18.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Emmett could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Short hops and long hauls from Emmett
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.
The kinds of work in Emmett
2,605 jobs are based in Emmett.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Emmett, 2013 → 2023: 1,757 → 2,605. 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 Emmett’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Emmett takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Emmett workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,481 commuters (the 8% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,795 residents head out to work, 584 work right here, and 2,021 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 (0.77 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.
Where people from Emmett work
Where Emmett clocks in
24% of workers
10% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Emmett
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Emmett is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #21 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place Emmett 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 3,787 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). 5.2% of Emmett households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Emmett’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000, Emmett ranks 2,052nd of 2,907 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,423 | Hailey ID | 10,053 | $91K | 7.4% | 2.3% | 30% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,662 | Fruitland ID | 7,213 | $65K | 8.8% | 1.8% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,937 | Sandpoint ID | 10,645 | $72K | 14.6% | 2.5% | 44% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,050 | Church Hill TN | 7,297 | $66K | 6.4% | 13.9% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,051 | Quincy WA | 8,510 | $88K | 6.2% | 7.7% | 36% | C+ |
| 2,052 | Emmett ID | 8,900 | $59K | 18.3% | 2.1% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,053 | Sweetwater TN | 6,706 | $45K | 14.6% | 2.7% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,054 | Monroe Township IN | 8,997 | $67K | 8.9% | 6.1% | 12% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Emmett, 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 Emmett: questions
What is the median household income in Emmett?
$58,750 (±$2,151) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Emmett?
18.3%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Emmett?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Emmett work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boise City (24%, 23 mi), Meridian (10%, 18 mi), Nampa (10%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Emmett walkable?
Emmett is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Emmett 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 Emmett, from the people who make the trip.
More of Emmett
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.