Meadow Lake’s household incomes are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Hardly any work in Meadow Lake; the top destination outside it is Albuquerque (46%, 21 miles). Poverty touches 20.6% of residents, where New Mexico as a whole has 17.8%. The two grades for Meadow Lake are D for jobs and income and D− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Meadow Lake: the gist
Meadow Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 130 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Meadow Lake is a place people come home to
There are 23 jobs based in Meadow Lake, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Meadow Lake has about 2,700 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Meadow Lake works in Albuquerque
715 working residents, 46%, have their main job in Albuquerque, 21 miles away. That’s far more as work in Meadow Lake itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of Meadow Lake workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Meadow Lake’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 17% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A young workforce
30% of Meadow Lake’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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 Meadow Lake’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Meadow Lake is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #46 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Meadow Lake’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,649, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Meadow Lake could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Meadow Lake’s commute takes about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Meadow Lake workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,468 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.
How a workday changes Meadow Lake
On a workday 1,539 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Meadow Lake on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.01 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 Meadow Lake’s working residents head each day
Where Meadow Lake clocks in
46% of workers
12% 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.
Inside Meadow Lake’s 23 jobs
23 jobs are based in Meadow Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Meadow Lake, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 23. 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 Meadow Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Meadow Lake goes to work
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 Meadow Lake walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Meadow Lake is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #73 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place Meadow Lake 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 1,653 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). 7.4% of Meadow Lake households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Meadow Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700, Meadow Lake ranks 3,510th of 3,962 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 421 | Sandia Heights NM | 3,160 | $144K | 4.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,339 | Eldorado at Santa Fe NM | 5,619 | $107K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,508 | El Dorado Springs MO | 3,642 | $32K | 28.4% | 2.6% | 27% | D |
| 3,509 | Worth Township MI | 3,423 | $61K | 13.4% | 7.0% | 10% | D |
| 3,510 | Meadow Lake NM | 4,259 | $44K | 20.6% | 4.8% | <1% | D |
| 3,511 | Soldotna AK | 4,615 | $56K | 16.4% | 5.9% | — | D |
| 3,512 | Paris AR | 3,357 | $51K | 18.9% | 5.0% | 25% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | 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 Meadow Lake, 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 Meadow Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Meadow Lake?
$43,649 (±$11,299) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Meadow Lake?
20.6%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Meadow Lake?
41 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 Meadow Lake work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (46%, 21 mi), Los Lunas (12%, 13 mi), Belen (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Meadow Lake walkable?
Meadow Lake 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 Meadow Lake 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 Meadow Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Meadow Lake
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.