Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainBlair has lower unemployment (2.1%) than 83% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 19 minutes each way; Nebraska averages 19, the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Blair A−; getting around on foot earns it C. About one in three work in Blair itself; outside it, Omaha draws the most (32%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Blair
Blair trades workers with the towns around it
Blair has about as many jobs (4,634) as working residents (4,067), but they are mostly different people: 2,829 residents leave for work each day while 3,396 people come in. Only 27% of the jobs in Blair are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Blair and Omaha trade workers both ways
Omaha is the top workplace for Blair residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Blair come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Why Blair gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blair is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #15 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($81,452, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blair could be anywhere from B− to A.
Blair on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,829 residents head out to work, 1,238 work right here, and 3,396 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 (1.14 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.
The towns that employ Blair’s residents
Where Blair clocks in
32% 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.
Inside Blair’s 4,634 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blair, 2013 → 2023: 3,543 → 4,634. 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 Blair’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way for Blair’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blair workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,454 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 86% 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.
How far Blair goes 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.
Most trips from Blair start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blair is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #52 of 57 in Nebraska. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across Nebraska.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,009 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). 5.6% of Blair households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blair’s commuters take a bus or train.
Blair next to U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,800: 901st of 3,015 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Gretna NE | 9,207 | $124K | 4.2% | 0.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 325 | Chalco NE | 10,595 | $86K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 579 | Ralston NE | 6,382 | $69K | 4.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 899 | Bryans Road MD | 9,371 | $118K | 2.8% | 8.5% | 2% | A− |
| 900 | George Mason VA | 9,937 | $150K | 5.8% | 9.5% | 6% | A− |
| 901 | Blair NE | 7,997 | $81K | 7.8% | 2.1% | 30% | A− |
| 902 | West Long Branch NJ | 8,625 | $114K | 3.4% | 8.3% | 6% | A− |
| 903 | Chillicothe Township IL | 8,139 | $69K | 4.2% | 1.7% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Blair, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
The towns around Blair
The biggest share goes to Township 2 (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blair workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blair | – | A− | C | 19 min | $81,452 |
| Township 6 | under 2% | A− | B− | 20 min | $95,492 |
| Township 2 | 7% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $115,529 |
| Township 5 | under 2% | B | C | 28 min | $90,469 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blair’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 Blair: questions
What is the median household income in Blair?
$81,452 (±$17,231) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blair?
7.8%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blair?
19 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blair work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Omaha (32%, 20 mi), Township 2 (7%, 3 mi), Lincoln (4%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blair walkable?
Blair is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blair without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blair, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blair
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.