Gov. Arthur J. Weaver House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Household incomes in Falls City trail those of 86% of U.S. towns
Falls City grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 11.4% of residents are in poverty, next to 10.6% for Nebraska as a whole. About half work in Falls City; the top destination outside it is Lincoln (7%, 77 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 Falls City
Most jobs in Falls City go to people who live here
Of the 1,398 jobs based in Falls City, 55% are held by Falls City residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Few Falls City 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.
The four measures behind Falls City’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Falls City is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #56 of 57 in Nebraska. The poverty rate holds Falls City’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Falls City could be anywhere from D to B−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 900 residents head out to work, 770 work right here, and 628 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 (0.84 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 daily trip from Falls City: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Falls City workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,697 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.
Where Falls City goes to work
Where Falls City clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
What Falls City’s employers do
1,398 jobs are based in Falls City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Falls City, 2013 → 2023: 1,536 → 1,398. 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 Falls City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Falls City
About 26% 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: Falls City
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Falls City is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #20 of 57 in Nebraska. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.5% across Nebraska, on an EPA index of 7.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,761 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). 12.5% of Falls City households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Falls City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400, Falls City ranks 3,507th of 4,177 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 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 312 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,505 | North Canaan CT | 3,231 | $72K | 13.4% | 8.6% | 28% | C− |
| 3,506 | Clinton IN | 4,771 | $43K | 21.4% | 4.2% | 11% | C− |
| 3,507 | Falls City NE | 3,988 | $52K | 11.4% | 5.3% | 46% | C− |
| 3,508 | North East PA | 4,018 | $69K | 19.2% | 9.2% | 18% | C− |
| 3,509 | Chincoteague VA | 3,309 | $63K | 10.2% | 6.5% | 26% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | 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 Falls City, 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 Falls City: questions
What is the median household income in Falls City?
$51,706 (±$10,131) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Falls City?
11.4%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Falls City?
17 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Falls City work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lincoln (7%, 77 mi), Omaha (5%, 86 mi), Hiawatha (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Falls City walkable?
Falls City is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Falls City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Falls City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Falls City
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.