At 0.3%, unemployment in Milford is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes, next to 19 for Nebraska and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Milford are A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 8% work in Milford; the top destination outside it is Lincoln (40%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Milford apart on work
Milford and Lincoln trade workers both ways
Lincoln is the top workplace for Milford residents (40%) and also where the most people who work in Milford come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Milford pay little
26% of the jobs based in Milford pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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; with 857 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Milford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Milford is better than 78% of U.S. towns. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Milford could be anywhere from B to A.
The towns that employ Milford’s residents
Where Milford clocks in
40% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Most jobs in Milford are in services
619 jobs are based in Milford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milford, 2013 → 2023: 660 → 619. 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 Milford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Milford
On a workday 791 residents head out to work, 66 work right here, and 553 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Milford on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Milford’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milford workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,304 commuters (the 6% 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.
Milford’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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 Milford gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Milford is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.5% across Nebraska, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,391 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). 7.0% of Milford households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Milford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Milford places 816th of 5,328 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 333 | Beaver Lake NE | 2,114 | $122K | 1.7% | 3.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Township 7 NE | 2,760 | $93K | 5.3% | 0.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 497 | Bennington NE | 1,968 | $98K | 5.3% | 3.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 814 | Dunkirk WI | 1,798 | $103K | 8.3% | 1.0% | <1% | A− |
| 815 | Orion IL | 1,708 | $94K | 5.2% | 3.4% | 13% | A− |
| 816 | Milford NE | 2,286 | $83K | 7.2% | 0.3% | 8% | A− |
| 817 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| 818 | Pine Valley CA | 1,786 | $133K | 2.9% | 28.9% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Milford, 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 Milford: questions
What is the median household income in Milford?
$82,699 (±$15,989) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milford?
7.2%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milford?
19 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Milford work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lincoln (40%, 20 mi), Omaha (7%, 62 mi), Seward (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Milford walkable?
Milford is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milford without a car?
<1% 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 Milford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milford
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.