Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainHouseholds in Broken Bow earn less than those in 74% of U.S. towns
8.8% of residents are in poverty, against 10.6% across Nebraska. Broken Bow grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. More than half stay in Broken Bow for work; outside it, Broken Bow Township is the main destination (3%, 2 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 Broken Bow
Commutes from Broken Bow are quick
The average trip to work takes 9 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Nebraska worker. Time on the road ↓
Broken Bow is where the jobs are
Broken Bow has 2,834 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Few Broken Bow workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Nebraska. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Broken Bow
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Broken Bow is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #54 of 57 in Nebraska. The poverty rate holds Broken Bow’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Broken Bow could be anywhere from D to B.
How long Broken Bow spends getting to work: about 9 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Broken Bow workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,490 commuters (the 4% 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 many people are in Broken Bow by day
On a workday 689 residents head out to work, 1,090 work right here, and 1,744 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Broken Bow on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Broken Bow, and from where
Where Broken Bow clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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.
Goods, not services: 34% of the jobs in Broken Bow
2,834 jobs are based in Broken Bow.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Broken Bow, 2013 → 2023: 2,380 → 2,834. 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 Broken Bow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Broken Bow’s workers travel
About 25% 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.
Driving is how Broken Bow gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Broken Bow is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #29 of 57 in Nebraska. Both inputs place Broken Bow 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 1,553 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). 8.1% of Broken Bow households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Broken Bow’s commuters take a bus or train.
Broken Bow next to U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,700: 3,331st of 4,221 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 310 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,329 | Fremont Township MI | 3,126 | $63K | 11.1% | 5.8% | 7% | C− |
| 3,330 | Ely MN | 3,231 | $44K | 13.9% | 2.5% | 45% | C− |
| 3,331 | Broken Bow NE | 3,507 | $60K | 8.8% | 5.9% | 61% | C− |
| 3,332 | Four Oaks NC | 2,978 | $73K | 15.3% | 8.3% | 3% | C− |
| 3,333 | Junction TX | 2,513 | $49K | 15.7% | 2.1% | 44% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,221 | 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 Broken Bow, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
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 Broken Bow: questions
What is the median household income in Broken Bow?
$60,129 (±$9,831) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Broken Bow?
8.8%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Broken Bow?
9 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Broken Bow work?
61% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Broken Bow Township (3%, 2 mi), Lincoln (3%, 160 mi), Omaha (3%, 186 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Broken Bow walkable?
Broken Bow is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Broken Bow without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Broken Bow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Broken Bow
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.