Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Nampa (3.1%) is lower than in 68% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Nampa itself; outside it, Boise City draws the most (29%, 17 miles). For jobs and income Nampa is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (B+). Commuters spend 24 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
Getting to work from Nampa, in brief
Nampa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Nampa went from 28,001 in 2013 to 47,574 in 2023, +70%. The jobs ↓
Nampa trades workers with the towns around it
Nampa has about as many jobs (47,574) as working residents (47,832), but they are mostly different people: 34,163 residents leave for work each day while 33,905 people come in. Only 29% of the jobs in Nampa are held by people who 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Nampa’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Nampa’s grade up (ahead of 72% 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, Nampa could be anywhere from B− to B+.
What work there is in Nampa: 47,574 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nampa, 2013 → 2023: 28,001 → 47,574. 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 Nampa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Nampa on a workday afternoon
On a workday 34,163 residents head out to work, 13,669 work right here, and 33,905 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 (0.99 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 the trip to work from Nampa ends
Where Nampa clocks in
29% of workers
7% 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.
The trip to work from Nampa: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nampa workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 47,233 commuters (the 12% 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.
Nampa’s commute, mile by mile
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.
For most of Nampa, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 53,965 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 43% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.8% of Nampa households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Nampa’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Ranked on jobs and income, Nampa is 173rd among 349 U.S. towns of 84,000 to 163,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Meridian ID | 142,988 | $101K | 6.0% | 2.7% | 24% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Cranston RI | 84,647 | $90K | 10.2% | 6.1% | 16% | B |
| 172 | Cheektowaga NY | 88,160 | $69K | 10.9% | 3.7% | 16% | B |
| 173 | Nampa ID | 120,384 | $74K | 11.5% | 3.1% | 29% | B |
| 174 | Concord NC | 114,598 | $87K | 9.6% | 5.5% | 19% | B |
| 175 | Brandon FL | 119,767 | $80K | 11.4% | 4.6% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Nampa, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
The towns around Nampa
The biggest share goes to Caldwell (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Nampa’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 Nampa: questions
What is the median household income in Nampa?
$74,279 (±$2,044) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nampa?
11.5%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nampa?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nampa work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boise City (29%, 17 mi), Meridian (14%, 8 mi), Caldwell (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nampa walkable?
Nampa is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nampa without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nampa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nampa
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.