Church Rock has lower household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Church Rock for work; outside it, Gallup is the main destination (46%, 10 miles). Poverty touches 33.7% of residents, where New Mexico as a whole has 17.8%. For jobs and income Church Rock is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Church Rock
On income, poverty and job access, Church Rock is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Church Rock’s grade.
Unemployment (6.1%) is left out: Church Rock’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Church Rock stays D−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Church Rock
On a workday 173 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 356 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Church Rock on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
2.0 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.
Where Church Rock’s workers come from
Where Church Rock clocks in
46% of workers
10% of workers
8% 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.
Most jobs in Church Rock are in services
361 jobs are based in Church Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Church Rock, 2013 → 2023: 4 → 361. 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 Church Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Church Rock: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Church Rock workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 430 commuters (the 11% 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Church Rock works
About 32% 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.
Few in Church Rock walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Church Rock is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Church Rock 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 484 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 8.7% of Church Rock households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Church Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
Church Rock and other U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 826 | Santa Ana Pueblo NM | 1,026 | $86K | 5.5% | 2.9% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 892 | Little Walnut Village NM | 1,445 | $125K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,038 | Mesilla NM | 1,818 | $75K | 4.5% | 6.8% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,834 | Garberville CA | 1,415 | $40K | 42.6% | 2.1% | 22% | D− |
| 5,835 | Fern Forest HI | 1,088 | $43K | 30.6% | 3.6% | 0% | D− |
| 5,836 | Church Rock NM | 1,381 | $35K | 33.7% | 6.1% | 3% | D− |
| 5,837 | Fort Washakie WY | 1,219 | $37K | 32.3% | 19.3% | 32% | D− |
| 5,838 | Crescent City FL | 1,728 | $34K | 31.7% | 13.3% | 11% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Church Rock, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Bordering towns draw 48% of Church Rock’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Church Rock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church Rock | – | D− | D− | 31 min | $35,083 |
| Gallup | 46% | D | A− | 21 min | $58,303 |
| Iyanbito | 2% | D− | C− | 36 min | $52,500 |
| Sundance | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sundance: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Gallup. Darker towns draw more of Church Rock’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 Church Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Church Rock?
$35,083 (±$10,743) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Church Rock?
33.7%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Church Rock?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Church Rock work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gallup (46%, 10 mi), Albuquerque (10%, 113 mi), Farmington (8%, 85 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Church Rock walkable?
Church Rock is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 2.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Church Rock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Church Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Church Rock
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.