Springfield Community Hall · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Work means Omaha for about half of Springfield’s working residents
Household incomes here are higher than in 71% of U.S. towns. Springfield grades A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 6% stay in Springfield for work; outside it, Omaha is the main destination (46%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Springfield
Nearly half of Springfield works in Omaha
329 working residents, 46%, have their main job in Omaha, 12 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Springfield itself. The commute map ↓
Springfield makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Springfield are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Springfield residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. 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 722 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Springfield’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Springfield is better than 82% of U.S. towns. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
Unemployment (4.5%) is left out: Springfield’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Springfield could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Commuting out of Springfield: the destinations
Where Springfield clocks in
46% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
Springfield makes things: 36% of its jobs are in goods
490 jobs are based in Springfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 203 → 490. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Springfield
On a workday 681 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 449 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Springfield on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
Time on the road from Springfield: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Springfield workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 727 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Springfield
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.
Few in Springfield walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 803 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.0% of Springfield households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Springfield ranks: 577th of 5,794 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Yutan NE | 1,451 | $103K | 0.7% | 8.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 261 | Buccaneer Bay NE | 1,418 | $161K | 4.9% | 0.0% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Pohocco Township NE | 1,296 | $100K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 575 | Richland Township NE | 1,432 | $91K | 2.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A− |
| 576 | Brunswick WI | 1,929 | $92K | 3.5% | 2.6% | 1% | A− |
| 577 | Springfield NE | 1,529 | $93K | 7.7% | 4.5% | 6% | A− |
| 578 | Riverside PA | 1,991 | $84K | 4.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A− |
| 579 | Riga Township MI | 1,489 | $86K | 2.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Springfield, 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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$92,955 (±$24,414) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
7.7%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
23 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
6% work in town.
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.