Jefferson County Courthouse · Photo: UltraSparky · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Rigby (2.2%) is lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Rigby for work; outside it, Idaho Falls is the main destination (27%, 14 miles). For jobs and income Rigby is better than 66% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (C+). 3% of workers have no commute at all; Idaho has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Rigby
Rigby trades workers with the towns around it
Rigby has about as many jobs (2,438) as working residents (2,098), but they are mostly different people: 1,848 residents leave for work each day while 2,188 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Rigby are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Rigby and Idaho Falls trade workers both ways
Idaho Falls is the top workplace for Rigby residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Rigby come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Rigby has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rigby went from 1,688 in 2013 to 2,438 in 2023, +44%. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Rigby pay little
29% of the jobs based in Rigby pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Rigby
52% of Rigby residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Rigby pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 88% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Rigby gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Rigby’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 48% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rigby could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily flow of workers through Rigby
On a workday 1,848 residents head out to work, 250 work right here, and 2,188 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 (1.16 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 Rigby ends
Where Rigby clocks in
27% of workers
11% 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 Rigby’s 2,438 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rigby, 2013 → 2023: 1,688 → 2,438. 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 Rigby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Rigby: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rigby workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,338 commuters (the 3% 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 Rigby
About 18% 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 Rigby, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,419 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). 1.9% of Rigby households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Rigby’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Rigby ranks: 1,322nd of 3,527 U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,320 | Greenacres CA | 4,906 | $92K | 4.1% | 8.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,321 | Centerville SC | 7,049 | $64K | 8.8% | 1.6% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,322 | Rigby ID | 5,757 | $85K | 9.7% | 2.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,323 | Berkeley IL | 5,141 | $86K | 17.5% | 3.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,324 | Platte City MO | 4,911 | $71K | 10.3% | 2.9% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,463 | Kimberly ID | 5,798 | $98K | 19.3% | 0.0% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,880 | Fruitland ID | 7,213 | $65K | 8.8% | 1.8% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,085 | Lincoln ID | 4,002 | $84K | 18.4% | 4.5% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,527 | 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 Rigby, 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 Rigby: questions
What is the median household income in Rigby?
$85,056 (±$11,436) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rigby?
9.7%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rigby?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rigby work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Idaho Falls (27%, 14 mi), Rexburg (11%, 12 mi), Ammon (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rigby walkable?
Rigby is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rigby without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rigby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rigby
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.