Merriman has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Only 3% stay in Merriman for work; outside it, Valentine is the main destination (44%, 58 miles). 8 jobs are based in Merriman, against 34 working residents. Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average, next to 19 for Nebraska and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Merriman by day and by night
On a workday 33 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.
About 65 people are in Merriman on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Merriman goes to work
Where Merriman clocks in
9% 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 jobs make up 75% of work in Merriman
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merriman, 2014 → 2024: 5 → 8. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Merriman’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Merriman: about 25 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merriman workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Merriman
About 78% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Merriman: questions
What is the median household income in Merriman?
$41,477 (±$26,057) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merriman?
9.4%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merriman?
25 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merriman work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Valentine (44%, 58 mi), Mission (9%, 59 mi), Cody (6%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Merriman without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Merriman, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merriman
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.