About half of Lincoln’s working residents commute to Idaho Falls
Working residents average 19 minutes each way, where Idaho has 22 and the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Lincoln is better than 46% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). Only 2% stay in Lincoln for work; outside it, Idaho Falls is the main destination (50%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lincoln apart
Most Lincoln residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Lincoln makes and builds things
48% of the jobs based in Lincoln are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Lincoln residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. The jobs ↓
Lincoln is a place people come home to
There are 496 jobs based in Lincoln, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lincoln has about 2,500 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 Lincoln earns its Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Lincoln’s grade up (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lincoln could be anywhere from C− to A.
Miles to work from Lincoln
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.
Factories, building and farms: 48% of the jobs in Lincoln
496 jobs are based in Lincoln.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 225 → 496. 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 Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Lincoln by day
On a workday 1,957 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 463 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Lincoln on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
The towns that employ Lincoln’s residents
Where Lincoln clocks in
50% of workers
8% 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.
How long Lincoln spends getting to work: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,472 commuters (the 13% 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.
Most trips from Lincoln start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 1,701 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). 3.4% of Lincoln households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lincoln’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lincoln is 2,328th of 4,177 U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 723 | Hidden Springs ID | 3,378 | $163K | 7.2% | 4.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,137 | Ketchum ID | 3,643 | $93K | 5.2% | 0.0% | 37% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,330 | Iona ID | 3,179 | $85K | 12.2% | 1.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,326 | Inman SC | 3,458 | $64K | 15.4% | 3.5% | 3% | B− |
| 2,327 | Benton ME | 2,821 | $61K | 10.0% | 1.7% | 4% | B− |
| 2,328 | Lincoln ID | 4,002 | $84K | 18.4% | 4.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,329 | Southgate KY | 3,868 | $54K | 19.8% | 3.2% | 1% | B− |
| 2,330 | Algoma WI | 3,225 | $64K | 16.8% | 0.8% | 25% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lincoln, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
Bordering towns draw 58% of Lincoln’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lincoln workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | – | B− | B | 19 min | $84,280 |
| Ammon | 8% | B | A− | 22 min | $86,121 |
| Idaho Falls | 50% | B− | A− | 19 min | $73,110 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Idaho Falls. Darker towns draw more of Lincoln’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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$84,280 (±$8,737) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
18.4%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
2% work in town.
Is Lincoln walkable?
Lincoln is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lincoln without a car?
1% 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 Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
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.