Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Las Vegas earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 32.0%, next to 17.8% for New Mexico as a whole. Las Vegas grades D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About half work in Las Vegas itself; outside it, Albuquerque draws the most (15%, 88 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Las Vegas and work: the main findings
Las Vegas’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Las Vegas is Albuquerque, 88 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (748) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Las Vegas go to people who live here
Of the 5,028 jobs based in Las Vegas, 46% are held by Las Vegas residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Las Vegas are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Las Vegas
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Las Vegas is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #58 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Las Vegas’ grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Las Vegas could be anywhere from D− to C−.
How far Las Vegas’ workers travel
About 33% 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.
A workday in Las Vegas: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,653 residents head out to work, 2,304 work right here, and 2,724 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 (1.01 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.
Each way, about 17 minutes from Las Vegas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Las Vegas workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,680 commuters (the 9% 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.
The places Las Vegas commutes to
Where Las Vegas clocks in
15% of workers
9% of workers
1% 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.
Las Vegas is a services town
5,028 jobs are based in Las Vegas.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Las Vegas, 2013 → 2023: 5,383 → 5,028. 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 Las Vegas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Las Vegas is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Las Vegas is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #20 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place Las Vegas 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 5,158 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). 13.0% of Las Vegas households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Las Vegas’ commuters take a bus or train.
Where Las Vegas sits among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 422 | Los Alamos NM | 13,317 | $141K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 77% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,812 | Bernalillo NM | 9,159 | $64K | 15.9% | 6.9% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,874 | North Valley NM | 10,455 | $61K | 17.6% | 8.5% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,270 | Eden NC | 15,500 | $47K | 19.2% | 8.3% | 19% | D |
| 2,271 | Alpena MI | 10,088 | $48K | 21.2% | 6.4% | 39% | D |
| 2,272 | Las Vegas NM | 12,574 | $45K | 32.0% | 4.8% | 46% | D |
| 2,273 | Coshocton OH | 11,169 | $49K | 25.9% | 7.4% | 31% | D |
| 2,274 | Raymondville TX | 10,082 | $51K | 31.0% | 9.1% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Las Vegas, 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 Las Vegas: questions
What is the median household income in Las Vegas?
$45,125 (±$8,572) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Las Vegas?
32.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Las Vegas?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Las Vegas work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (15%, 88 mi), Santa Fe (9%, 43 mi), Española (1%, 55 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Las Vegas walkable?
Las Vegas is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Las Vegas without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Las Vegas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Las Vegas
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.