Hotel Chadron · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Chadron (1.8%) than in 87% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Chadron is behind 82% of U.S. towns. Chadron grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. 3% of workers have no commute at all; Nebraska has 11%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Chadron at work: what stands out
Most jobs in Chadron go to people who live here
Of the 2,368 jobs based in Chadron, 51% are held by Chadron residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Chadron are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Nebraska worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Chadron workers work from home
Only 3% 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.
The figures behind Chadron’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chadron is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #48 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment holds Chadron’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chadron could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Who leaves Chadron for work, and who comes in
On a workday 860 residents head out to work, 1,204 work right here, and 1,164 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 (1.15 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.
About 14 minutes each way for Chadron’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chadron workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,787 commuters (the 3% 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.
Where Chadron goes to work
Where Chadron clocks in
4% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
The kinds of work in Chadron
2,368 jobs are based in Chadron.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chadron, 2013 → 2023: 2,353 → 2,368. 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 Chadron’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Chadron
About 28% 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.
Chadron is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chadron is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #2 of 57 in Nebraska. Both inputs place Chadron 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 2,867 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). 4.1% of Chadron households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chadron’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Chadron ranks: 2,639th of 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 377 | Hickman NE | 3,663 | $104K | 2.6% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 427 | Township 1 NE | 4,517 | $126K | 5.9% | 2.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,637 | Oakhurst CA | 6,091 | $82K | 5.5% | 8.6% | 28% | C |
| 2,638 | Metter GA | 4,076 | $36K | 15.2% | 0.0% | 24% | C |
| 2,639 | Chadron NE | 4,975 | $55K | 13.2% | 1.8% | 58% | C |
| 2,640 | Farmville NC | 4,577 | $47K | 28.1% | 1.8% | 13% | C |
| 2,641 | Brookshire TX | 6,090 | $66K | 21.4% | 7.6% | 7% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | 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 Chadron, 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 Chadron: questions
What is the median household income in Chadron?
$54,590 (±$4,167) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chadron?
13.2%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chadron?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chadron work?
58% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scottsbluff (4%, 74 mi), O'Neill (3%, 223 mi), Omaha (2%, 372 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chadron walkable?
Chadron is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chadron without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chadron, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chadron
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.