Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainHousehold incomes in Sidney are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
Sidney grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 16.2% of residents, next to 10.6% for Nebraska as a whole. More than half work in Sidney; the top destination outside it is Scottsbluff (5%, 62 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Sidney
Most jobs in Sidney go to people who live here
Of the 2,955 jobs based in Sidney, 54% are held by Sidney residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Sidney than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Sidney fell from 4,410 in 2013 to 2,955 in 2023, −33%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Sidney 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.
Jobs & income in Sidney: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sidney is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #53 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment holds Sidney’s grade up (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sidney could be anywhere from D to C+.
A workday in Sidney: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,233 residents head out to work, 1,592 work right here, and 1,363 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 (1.05 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 Sidney
2,955 jobs are based in Sidney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sidney, 2013 → 2023: 4,410 → 2,955. 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 Sidney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Sidney, about 13 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sidney workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,948 commuters (the 9% 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.
Commuting out of Sidney: the destinations
Where Sidney clocks in
5% 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.
How far Sidney’s workers travel
About 29% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Sidney
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sidney is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #7 of 57 in Nebraska. Both inputs place Sidney 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 3,234 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). 5.2% of Sidney households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sidney’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,306 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700, Sidney comes 2,650th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 417 | Township 1 NE | 4,517 | $126K | 5.9% | 2.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 545 | Ralston NE | 6,382 | $69K | 4.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,648 | Oneonta NY | 4,961 | $79K | 14.1% | 7.6% | 13% | C− |
| 2,649 | Scottsburg IN | 7,478 | $39K | 23.4% | 4.2% | 22% | C− |
| 2,650 | Sidney NE | 6,432 | $55K | 16.2% | 3.1% | 56% | C− |
| 2,651 | Collinsville VA | 7,139 | $52K | 16.3% | 4.7% | 11% | C− |
| 2,652 | Midfield AL | 4,906 | $53K | 24.6% | 7.2% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | 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 Sidney, 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 Sidney: questions
What is the median household income in Sidney?
$54,734 (±$9,681) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sidney?
16.2%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sidney?
13 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sidney work?
56% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scottsbluff (5%, 62 mi), Omaha (2%, 360 mi), O'Neill (2%, 241 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sidney walkable?
Sidney is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sidney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sidney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sidney
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.