Household incomes in Dexter are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 41.3% of residents, next to 17.8% across New Mexico. Jobs and income earn Dexter D−; getting around on foot earns it C. 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 12% across New Mexico.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Dexter, in a few figures
Dexter and Roswell trade workers both ways
Roswell is the top workplace for Dexter residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Dexter come from (35% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Dexter are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico 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; with 252 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Dexter
On income, poverty and job access, Dexter is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Dexter’s grade.
Unemployment (10.7%) is left out: Dexter’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, Dexter could be anywhere from D− to D.
19% of working residents work in Roswell
Where Dexter clocks in
19% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Dexter
About 38% 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.
Commuting from Dexter: about 15 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dexter workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 341 commuters (the 0% 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.
A workday in Dexter: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 226 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 303 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 (1.31 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.
What work there is in Dexter: 329 jobs
329 jobs are based in Dexter.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dexter, 2013 → 2023: 435 → 329. 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 Dexter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of Dexter, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dexter is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across New Mexico.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 341 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). 8.1% of Dexter households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dexter’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Dexter sits among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 386 | Santa Ana Pueblo NM | 1,026 | $86K | 5.5% | 2.9% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 663 | Barton NM | 1,302 | $82K | 6.6% | 5.8% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 790 | Atoka NM | 1,347 | $84K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,037 | Lakeview MI | 1,048 | $34K | 30.4% | 21.2% | 7% | D− |
| 3,038 | Rolling Fork MS | 1,387 | $46K | 24.5% | 6.9% | 24% | D− |
| 3,039 | Dexter NM | 1,049 | $44K | 41.3% | 10.7% | 10% | D− |
| 3,040 | Brookneal VA | 1,083 | $45K | 24.8% | 4.2% | 11% | D− |
| 3,041 | Sistersville WV | 1,319 | $46K | 40.8% | 12.6% | 6% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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 Dexter, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
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 Dexter: questions
What is the median household income in Dexter?
$43,846 (±$29,158) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dexter?
41.3%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dexter?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dexter work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roswell (19%, 15 mi), Artesia (8%, 24 mi), Albuquerque (7%, 185 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dexter walkable?
Dexter is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dexter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dexter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dexter
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.