More than half of Valley’s working residents commute to Omaha
26% of workers work from home, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%. The two grades for Valley are A for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Valley
Valley makes and builds things
81% of the jobs based in Valley are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Valley residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
More than half of Valley works in Omaha
798 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Omaha, 17 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Valley itself. The commute map ↓
Valley is where the jobs are
Valley has 3,623 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,600 people are in town, 65% more than the 3,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Valley
26% of Valley workers work from home, against 11% across Nebraska. Time on the road ↓
Valley workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 19 across Nebraska. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical 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.
Valley’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Valley is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #5 of 57 in Nebraska. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Valley’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Valley could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Goods jobs make up 81% of work in Valley
3,623 jobs are based in Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley, 2013 → 2023: 3,400 → 3,623. 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 Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Valley
Where Valley clocks in
56% of workers
3% 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.
Who works in Valley, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,225 residents head out to work, 195 work right here, and 3,428 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Valley on a workday afternoon, 65% more than live here.
2.6 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.
About 29 minutes to work from Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,242 commuters (the 26% 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.
How far it is to work from Valley
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.
Most trips from Valley start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Valley is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns, #55 of 57 in Nebraska. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.5% across Nebraska, on an EPA index of 4.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,681 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). 5.3% of Valley households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600, Valley ranks 309th of 4,402 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Waverly NE | 4,533 | $112K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 207 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 307 | Fox Island WA | 3,414 | $172K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| 308 | Smithton IL | 3,868 | $135K | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3% | A |
| 309 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| 310 | Hereford Township PA | 3,127 | $116K | 5.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A |
| 311 | Wheatland WI | 3,337 | $91K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 373 | Hickman NE | 3,663 | $104K | 2.6% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
The towns around Valley
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley | – | A | C− | 29 min | $110,200 |
| Leshara Township | under 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| King Lake | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Leshara Township and King Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Valley’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 Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Valley?
$110,200 (±$20,534) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley?
5.3%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley?
29 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valley work?
14% work in town.
Is Valley walkable?
Valley is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley
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.