Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0Lewiston has lower unemployment (2.5%) than 77% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Lewiston B−; getting around on foot earns it B. More than half stay in Lewiston for work; outside it, Clarkston is the main destination (7%, 3 miles). Commuters spend 15 minutes getting to work on average, next to 22 for Idaho and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lewiston at work: what stands out
Most jobs in Lewiston go to people who live here
Of the 17,312 jobs based in Lewiston, 51% are held by Lewiston residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Many of the people who work in Lewiston live in another state
Clarkston, WA (6%), Clarkston Heights-Vineland, WA (5%) and West Clarkston-Highland, WA (4%) are among the top places Lewiston’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 17% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Lewiston are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 22 across Idaho. That’s about 54 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lewiston
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lewiston is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #26 of 59 in Idaho. Unemployment holds Lewiston’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lewiston could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Who works in Lewiston, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,857 residents head out to work, 8,764 work right here, and 8,548 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 (1.11 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.
The places Lewiston commutes to
Where Lewiston clocks in
2% 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 15 minutes in Lewiston
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lewiston workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,485 commuters (the 10% 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.
What the 17,312 jobs in Lewiston are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lewiston, 2013 → 2023: 18,020 → 17,312. 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 Lewiston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Lewiston, by distance
About 16% 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.
Lewiston is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lewiston is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns, #34 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place Lewiston 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 16,064 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). 6.5% of Lewiston households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Lewiston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lewiston next to U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000: 920th of 1,287 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Eagle ID | 34,658 | $123K | 6.1% | 2.0% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Kuna ID | 31,525 | $96K | 6.8% | 1.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 782 | Post Falls ID | 46,715 | $82K | 11.1% | 3.3% | 22% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 918 | San Pablo CA | 31,678 | $79K | 12.6% | 8.5% | 5% | B− |
| 919 | Center Township IN | 25,168 | $68K | 13.8% | 3.5% | 22% | B− |
| 920 | Lewiston ID | 34,717 | $72K | 12.5% | 2.5% | 56% | B− |
| 921 | El Mirage AZ | 35,820 | $78K | 12.5% | 5.8% | 1% | B− |
| 922 | Truro Township OH | 31,701 | $66K | 13.7% | 5.3% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Lewiston, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
How Lewiston compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lewiston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston | – | B− | B | 15 min | $72,197 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Clarkston. Darker towns draw more of Lewiston’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 Lewiston: questions
What is the median household income in Lewiston?
$72,197 (±$6,698) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lewiston?
12.5%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lewiston?
15 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lewiston work?
56% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clarkston (7%, 3 mi), Moscow (3%, 23 mi), Boise City (2%, 197 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lewiston walkable?
Lewiston is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lewiston without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lewiston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lewiston
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.