Photo: Captain Budd Christman, NOAA Corps · Public domainWork means El Paso for more than half of Sunland Park’s working residents
For 5% of workers, the job is at home, where New Mexico as a whole has 12%. Jobs and income earn Sunland Park C+; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in ten stay in Sunland Park for work; outside it, El Paso is the main destination (54%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sunland Park and work: the main findings
Many Sunland Park workers cross into Texas
61% of Sunland Park workers work outside New Mexico, most of them in Texas, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Sunland Park live in another state
El Paso, TX (38%) and Canutillo, TX (1%) are among the top places Sunland Park’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 39% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Sunland Park workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Sunland Park workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of Sunland Park’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sunland Park
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sunland Park is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #24 of 72 in New Mexico. Job access by car holds Sunland Park’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (22.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sunland Park could be anywhere from C− to B.
The places Sunland Park commutes to
Where Sunland Park clocks in
54% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
A commute of about 32 minutes in Sunland Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sunland Park workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,230 commuters (the 5% 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 2,559 jobs based in Sunland Park
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sunland Park, 2013 → 2023: 2,461 → 2,559. 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 Sunland Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Sunland Park by day
On a workday 6,250 residents head out to work, 557 work right here, and 2,002 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Sunland Park on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.38 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.
How far it is to work from Sunland Park
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.
Most trips from Sunland Park start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sunland Park is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #37 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of 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 7,603 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 5.3% of Sunland Park households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Sunland Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000, Sunland Park ranks 1,455th of 1,915 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Los Alamos NM | 13,317 | $141K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 77% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,453 | Ashland OH | 18,730 | $60K | 16.6% | 3.8% | 40% | C+ |
| 1,454 | East Milton FL | 14,783 | $65K | 12.5% | 4.3% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,455 | Sunland Park NM | 18,268 | $63K | 22.4% | 4.6% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,456 | Washington Township IN | 16,948 | $59K | 16.6% | 2.4% | 38% | C+ |
| 1,457 | Candler-McAfee GA | 20,905 | $65K | 14.7% | 12.2% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,527 | Los Lunas NM | 20,572 | $62K | 18.2% | 4.9% | 17% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,808 | Deming NM | 14,944 | $34K | 30.9% | 2.7% | 45% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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 Sunland Park, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Bordering towns draw 58% of Sunland Park’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sunland Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunland Park | – | C+ | B | 32 min | $62,814 |
| Santa Teresa | 4% | B− | D | 29 min | $63,161 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to El Paso. Darker towns draw more of Sunland Park’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 Sunland Park: questions
What is the median household income in Sunland Park?
$62,814 (±$12,785) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sunland Park?
22.4%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sunland Park?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sunland Park work?
8% work in town.
Is Sunland Park walkable?
Sunland Park is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sunland Park without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sunland Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sunland Park
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.