Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Priest River earn less than those in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Priest River for work; outside it, Sandpoint is the main destination (14%, 17 miles). 5.0% of residents are in poverty; Idaho has 10.6%. Jobs and income earn Priest River C; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Priest River apart
A lot of Priest River workers cross into Washington
20% of Priest River workers work outside Idaho, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Newport (6%), Spokane (4%) and Spokane Valley (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Priest River pay little
28% of the jobs based in Priest River pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Priest River
54% of Priest River residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Priest River pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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; with 560 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Priest River gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Priest River is better than 29% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Priest River’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.9%) is left out: Priest River’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Priest River could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Where people from Priest River work
Where Priest River clocks in
14% 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 531 jobs based in Priest River
531 jobs are based in Priest River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Priest River, 2013 → 2023: 636 → 531. 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 Priest River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Priest River
On a workday 502 residents head out to work, 58 work right here, and 473 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 (0.95 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.
About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Idaho
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Priest River workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 642 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Priest River
About 19% 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.
In Priest River, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Priest River is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Priest River 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 713 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). 2.8% of Priest River households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Priest River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Priest River places 3,443rd of 5,656 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 635 | Dalton Gardens ID | 2,496 | $80K | 4.6% | 1.1% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,233 | Groveland ID | 1,422 | $76K | 2.0% | 4.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,497 | Sun Valley ID | 1,776 | $126K | 6.0% | 0.0% | 25% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,441 | Michigan Township IN | 1,567 | $51K | 9.1% | 3.7% | 5% | C |
| 3,442 | Drexel OH | 1,751 | $32K | 15.7% | 16.8% | 2% | C |
| 3,443 | Priest River ID | 1,851 | $59K | 5.0% | 1.9% | 10% | C |
| 3,444 | Carbon Cliff IL | 1,810 | $56K | 19.1% | 4.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,445 | Winamac IN | 2,365 | $47K | 23.9% | 0.0% | 33% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Priest River, 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 Priest River: questions
What is the median household income in Priest River?
$58,782 (±$6,349) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Priest River?
5.0%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Priest River?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Priest River work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sandpoint (14%, 17 mi), Coeur d'Alene (6%, 34 mi), Newport (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Priest River walkable?
Priest River is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Priest River 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 Priest River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Priest River
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.