Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, California, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Making a living in Idaho Falls
A typical one-way commute from Idaho Falls lasts 19 minutes (Idaho State 22, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Idaho Falls B−; getting around on foot earns it A−. More than half stay in Idaho Falls for work; outside it, Ammon is the main destination (6%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Idaho Falls at work: what stands out
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Idaho Falls
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Idaho Falls is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #22 of 59 in Idaho. Job access by car holds Idaho Falls’ grade up (ahead of 65% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Idaho Falls could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Who commutes out of Idaho Falls, and who commutes in
On a workday 13,923 residents head out to work, 15,524 work right here, and 33,186 people come in from elsewhere.
About 91,000 people are in Idaho Falls on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 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 2024, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Idaho Falls, and from where
Where Idaho Falls clocks in
6% 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 Idaho Falls’ 48,710 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Idaho Falls, 2014 → 2024: 37,946 → 48,710. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Idaho Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Idaho Falls’ commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Idaho Falls workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho State. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,228 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Idaho State: 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 many miles Idaho Falls commutes
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Idaho Falls is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Idaho Falls is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #19 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place Idaho 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 31,178 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). 3.3% of Idaho Falls households have no vehicle (Idaho State 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Idaho Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Idaho Falls is 415th of 628 U.S. towns of 50,000 to 97,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 354 | Coeur d'Alene ID | 58,179 | $72K | 9.2% | 2.9% | 43% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 413 | Perris CA | 83,237 | $89K | 10.7% | 7.9% | 9% | B− |
| 414 | Columbia TN | 50,072 | $64K | 14.2% | 2.6% | 23% | B− |
| 415 | Idaho Falls ID | 71,785 | $73K | 11.5% | 4.2% | 53% | B− |
| 416 | East Hartford CT | 50,968 | $71K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 10% | B− |
| 417 | Bristol CT | 62,341 | $79K | 10.7% | 7.3% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 430 | Twin Falls ID | 56,216 | $61K | 11.4% | 3.0% | 56% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 435 | Caldwell ID | 76,629 | $73K | 11.9% | 5.0% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 628 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Idaho Falls, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho State.
Idaho Falls and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Idaho Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Falls | – | B− | A− | 19 min | $73,110 |
| Ammon | 6% | B | A− | 22 min | $86,121 |
| Lincoln | under 1% | B− | B | 19 min | $84,280 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Ammon. Darker towns draw more of Idaho Falls’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 2024, 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 Idaho Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Idaho Falls?
$73,110 (±$2,275) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho State and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Idaho Falls?
11.5%, against 10.6% across Idaho State and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Idaho Falls?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho State and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Idaho Falls work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ammon (6%, 4 mi), Pocatello (3%, 48 mi), Boise City (3%, 210 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Idaho Falls walkable?
Idaho Falls is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Idaho Falls without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Idaho Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Idaho Falls
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.