Star Camp · Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0Star has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Star grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Employers in Star report 1,902 jobs, against 5,656 working residents. 21% of workers have no commute at all, next to 13% for Idaho as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Star
Jobs in Star have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Star went from 587 in 2013 to 1,902 in 2023, +224%. The jobs ↓
Star and Boise City trade workers both ways
Boise City is the top workplace for Star residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Star come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
37% of the jobs based in Star are held by workers 29 or younger, against 20% of Star’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Star
60% of Star residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Star pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Star workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Idaho. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Star’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Star is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #13 of 59 in Idaho. Household income holds Star’s grade up ($97,936, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Star could be anywhere from B− to A.
What Star’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Star, 2013 → 2023: 587 → 1,902. 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 Star’s own residents hold wherever they work.
37% of working residents work in Boise City
Where Star clocks in
37% of workers
10% 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.
About 28 minutes each way for Star’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Star workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,249 commuters (the 21% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Star
On a workday 5,298 residents head out to work, 358 work right here, and 1,544 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Star on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
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 distance from Star to work
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 Star, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Star is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #54 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place Star 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 6,658 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.8% of Star households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Star’s commuters take a bus or train.
Star places 891st of 1,705 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 841 | Hayden ID | 17,363 | $83K | 7.8% | 3.1% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 879 | Ammon ID | 20,119 | $86K | 5.4% | 5.1% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 889 | Lynden WA | 16,881 | $103K | 7.3% | 3.6% | 24% | B |
| 890 | Rio Linda CA | 16,335 | $96K | 14.4% | 4.4% | 6% | B |
| 891 | Star ID | 20,874 | $98K | 5.8% | 6.9% | 6% | B |
| 892 | Keene NH | 23,072 | $78K | 10.1% | 2.0% | 45% | B |
| 893 | Cornelius OR | 15,520 | $96K | 9.1% | 5.0% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 927 | Chubbuck ID | 16,823 | $83K | 6.0% | 4.3% | 14% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Star, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
Star and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Eagle (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Star’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 Star: questions
What is the median household income in Star?
$97,936 (±$12,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Star?
5.8%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Star?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Star work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boise City (37%, 15 mi), Meridian (17%, 8 mi), Nampa (10%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Star walkable?
Star is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Star without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Star, from the people who make the trip.
More of Star
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.