Gering Courier Building · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainAt 0.6%, unemployment in Gering is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Gering itself; outside it, Scottsbluff draws the most (44%, 3 miles). The two grades for Gering are B for jobs and income and B for walkability. Home is the office for 3% of workers, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Gering at work: what stands out
Most Gering residents work close to home
76% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Gering and Scottsbluff trade workers both ways
Scottsbluff is the top workplace for Gering residents (44%) and also where the most people who work in Gering come from (27% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Gering 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.
Inside Gering’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gering is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #24 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment holds Gering’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gering could be anywhere from B− to B+.
How far Gering’s workers travel
About 17% 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.
Out of Gering to work: where people go
Where Gering clocks in
44% of workers
2% 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.
Getting to work from Gering takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gering workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,064 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.
Gering by day and by night
On a workday 2,882 residents head out to work, 831 work right here, and 2,178 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 (0.81 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 kinds of work in Gering
3,009 jobs are based in Gering.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gering, 2013 → 2023: 3,053 → 3,009. 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 Gering’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Gering gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gering is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #39 of 57 in Nebraska. Both inputs place Gering 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 4,190 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). 8.3% of Gering households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Gering’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Gering ranks: 1,519th of 2,922 U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Gretna NE | 9,207 | $124K | 4.2% | 0.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 321 | Chalco NE | 10,595 | $86K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 589 | Ralston NE | 6,382 | $69K | 4.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,517 | Cross Creek Township OH | 7,574 | $72K | 6.8% | 3.0% | 9% | B |
| 1,518 | Springfield Township OH | 11,124 | $81K | 6.3% | 5.3% | 14% | B |
| 1,519 | Gering NE | 8,535 | $75K | 12.4% | 0.6% | 22% | B |
| 1,520 | Manchester NY | 9,225 | $69K | 13.9% | 1.8% | 13% | B |
| 1,521 | Gloucester Point VA | 11,109 | $74K | 7.5% | 3.4% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,922 | 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 Gering, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
Bordering towns draw 45% of Gering’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gering workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gering | – | B | B | 15 min | $75,093 |
| Terrytown | 1% | D | B+ | 19 min | $43,618 |
| Scottsbluff | 44% | C+ | B+ | 13 min | $56,359 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Scottsbluff. Darker towns draw more of Gering’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 Gering: questions
What is the median household income in Gering?
$75,093 (±$7,098) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gering?
12.4%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gering?
15 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gering work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scottsbluff (44%, 3 mi), O'Neill (2%, 261 mi), Omaha (2%, 395 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gering walkable?
Gering is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gering without a car?
<1% 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 Gering, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gering
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.