Photo: AllenS · Public domainAbout one in three of Bloomfield’s working residents commute to Farmington
Jobs & income D: better than 9% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #54 of 72 in New Mexico.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns · #12 of 73 in New Mexico.
Household incomes here are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). About one in seven work in Bloomfield; the top destination outside it is Farmington (37%, 12 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.0 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 5.2 in Albuquerque (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Bloomfield, in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Bloomfield than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Bloomfield fell from 4,219 in 2013 to 2,212 in 2023, −48%. 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 ↓
Bloomfield and Farmington trade workers both ways
Farmington is the top workplace for Bloomfield residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Bloomfield come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Bloomfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Bloomfield workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 12% across New Mexico. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
What’s behind Bloomfield’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bloomfield is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #54 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Bloomfield’s grade up (5.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (25.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bloomfield could be anywhere from D− to C.
Bloomfield makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
2,212 jobs are based in Bloomfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bloomfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bloomfield, 2013 → 2023: 4,219 → 2,212. 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.
37% of working residents work in Farmington
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Bloomfield clocks in
37% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Mexico
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bloomfield workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,514 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,437 residents head out to work, 464 work right here, and 1,748 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 (0.76 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.
Half of Bloomfield commutes less than 11 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
Bloomfield is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bloomfield is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #12 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place Bloomfield 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 2,587 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 0.0 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). 7.4% of Bloomfield households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bloomfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Bloomfield compares with U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bloomfield, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 587 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 805 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,258 | Eldorado at Santa Fe NM | 5,619 | $107K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,969 | Galax VA | 6,670 | $39K | 31.1% | 5.1% | 33% | D |
| 2,970 | Golden Valley AZ | 8,567 | $43K | 23.7% | 3.9% | 4% | D |
| 2,971 | Bloomfield NM | 7,335 | $48K | 25.7% | 5.7% | 16% | D |
| 2,972 | Edna TX | 6,088 | $60K | 24.6% | 7.5% | 13% | D |
| 2,973 | Vandalia IL | 7,108 | $45K | 22.2% | 6.0% | 28% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | 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.
10% of Bloomfield works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Aztec (6%). Darker towns draw more of Bloomfield’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bloomfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield | – | D | A− | 19 min | $48,472 |
| Sullivan | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Lee Acres | 4% | D− | C | 20 min | $44,583 |
| West Hammond | under 2% | C− | C+ | 29 min | $48,929 |
| Angustura | under 2% | D | D | 21 min | $53,750 |
| Aztec | 6% | D | A− | 21 min | $41,977 |
Same-state neighbors only. Sullivan: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Bloomfield: questions
What is the median household income in Bloomfield?
$48,472 (±$13,203) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bloomfield?
25.7%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bloomfield?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bloomfield work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Farmington (37%, 12 mi), Aztec (6%, 5 mi), Albuquerque (5%, 135 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bloomfield walkable?
Bloomfield is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bloomfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bloomfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bloomfield
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.