Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Scottsbluff earn less than those in 79% of U.S. towns
More than half work in Scottsbluff; the top destination outside it is Gering (13%, 3 miles). 15.4% of residents live below the poverty line, where Nebraska as a whole has 10.6%. For jobs and income Scottsbluff is better than 37% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Scottsbluff
Scottsbluff is where the jobs are
Scottsbluff has 9,277 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Scottsbluff are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Nebraska worker. 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.
How Scottsbluff earns its Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Scottsbluff’s grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($56,359, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Scottsbluff could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Scottsbluff fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,995 residents head out to work, 3,179 work right here, and 6,098 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Scottsbluff on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
A commute of about 13 minutes in Scottsbluff
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scottsbluff workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,557 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.
The daily trip into Scottsbluff
Where Scottsbluff clocks in
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.
What work there is in Scottsbluff: 9,277 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scottsbluff, 2013 → 2023: 10,389 → 9,277. 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 Scottsbluff’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Scottsbluff
About 20% 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.
In Scottsbluff, the car does most of the work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across Nebraska.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,954 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). 7.6% of Scottsbluff households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Scottsbluff’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000, Scottsbluff ranks 1,624th of 2,227 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 293 | Chalco NE | 10,595 | $86K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 769 | La Vista NE | 16,543 | $82K | 7.5% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,475 | Lexington NE | 11,176 | $68K | 13.8% | 2.1% | 21% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,622 | Fort Lewis WA | 15,167 | $59K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,623 | Smyrna DE | 13,340 | $67K | 12.9% | 5.6% | 13% | C+ |
| 1,624 | Scottsbluff NE | 14,259 | $56K | 15.4% | 2.6% | 51% | C+ |
| 1,625 | Tonawanda NY | 14,848 | $58K | 13.8% | 6.2% | 10% | C+ |
| 1,626 | Jasper AL | 14,585 | $66K | 15.9% | 3.5% | 28% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Scottsbluff, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
Bordering towns draw 14% of Scottsbluff’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scottsbluff workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsbluff | – | C+ | B+ | 13 min | $56,359 |
| Gering | 13% | B | B | 15 min | $75,093 |
| Terrytown | 1% | D | B+ | 19 min | $43,618 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Gering. Darker towns draw more of Scottsbluff’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 Scottsbluff: questions
What is the median household income in Scottsbluff?
$56,359 (±$7,224) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scottsbluff?
15.4%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scottsbluff?
13 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scottsbluff work?
51% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gering (13%, 3 mi), O'Neill (3%, 260 mi), Omaha (2%, 395 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Scottsbluff walkable?
Scottsbluff is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scottsbluff without a car?
0% 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 Scottsbluff, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scottsbluff
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.