Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0At 3.2%, unemployment in Walton is lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 4.7 in Louisville. The two grades for Walton are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Only 7% stay in Walton for work; outside it, Florence is the main destination (11%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Walton
Walton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Walton went from 2,217 in 2013 to 3,505 in 2023, +58%. The jobs ↓
Walton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Kentucky. Over a year that’s about 230 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.
Walton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Walton is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #43 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Walton’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Walton could be anywhere from C to A.
In Walton, 34% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
3,505 jobs are based in Walton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Walton, 2013 → 2023: 2,217 → 3,505. 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 Walton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Walton: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Walton workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,033 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% 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.
Who works in Walton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,639 residents head out to work, 185 work right here, and 3,320 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Walton on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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.
Commuting out of Walton: the destinations
Where Walton clocks in
11% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Walton’s commute, mile by mile
About 16% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Walton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Walton is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #35 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,243 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 93% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 20% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 2.9% of Walton households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Walton’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Walton is 1,490th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Buckner KY | 4,119 | $164K | 0.1% | 2.1% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 280 | Fort Wright KY | 6,240 | $105K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 295 | Prospect KY | 4,705 | $163K | 2.4% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,488 | Jaffrey NH | 5,633 | $92K | 3.8% | 5.1% | 29% | B |
| 1,489 | Genoa IL | 5,547 | $82K | 11.9% | 3.6% | 9% | B |
| 1,490 | Walton KY | 5,868 | $78K | 13.0% | 3.2% | 7% | B |
| 1,491 | Petoskey MI | 5,772 | $74K | 9.0% | 1.6% | 32% | B |
| 1,492 | Washingtonville NY | 5,640 | $95K | 8.2% | 5.6% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Walton, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
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 Walton: questions
What is the median household income in Walton?
$77,917 (±$14,641) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Walton?
13.0%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Walton?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Walton work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Florence (11%, 9 mi), Cincinnati (6%, 20 mi), Covington (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Walton walkable?
Walton is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Walton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 20% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Walton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Walton
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.