Household incomes in Thunder Mountain trail those of 91% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 2.9% of residents, where New Mexico as a whole has 17.8%. The two grades for Thunder Mountain are C+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 2% work in Thunder Mountain; the top destination outside it is Albuquerque (28%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Thunder Mountain stands out on work
Thunder Mountain and Albuquerque trade workers both ways
Albuquerque is the top workplace for Thunder Mountain residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Thunder Mountain come from (36% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Thunder Mountain is a place people come home to
There are 67 jobs based in Thunder Mountain, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Thunder Mountain workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical 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 367 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Thunder Mountain
On income, poverty and job access, Thunder Mountain is better than 40% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Thunder Mountain’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($47,309, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Thunder Mountain’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, Thunder Mountain could be anywhere from C to B+.
The towns that employ Thunder Mountain’s residents
Where Thunder Mountain clocks in
28% of workers
16% of workers
10% 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.
Who leaves Thunder Mountain for work, and who comes in
On a workday 358 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 58 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Thunder Mountain on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.18 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.
About 33 minutes each way for Thunder Mountain’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thunder Mountain workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 340 commuters (the 18% 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.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in Thunder Mountain
67 jobs are based in Thunder Mountain.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thunder Mountain, 2013 → 2023: 18 → 67. 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 Thunder Mountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Thunder Mountain’s commute, mile by mile
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 Thunder Mountain start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Thunder Mountain is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Thunder Mountain 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 413 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). 1.4% of Thunder Mountain households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Thunder Mountain’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Thunder Mountain is 2,427th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 746 | Santa Ana Pueblo NM | 1,026 | $86K | 5.5% | 2.9% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 809 | Little Walnut Village NM | 1,445 | $125K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,095 | Cuartelez NM | 1,512 | $114K | 5.6% | 20.8% | 0% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,425 | Washington Township OH | 1,273 | $68K | 7.6% | 6.3% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,426 | Foresthill CA | 1,483 | $81K | 7.7% | 2.7% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,427 | Thunder Mountain NM | 1,366 | $47K | 2.9% | 0.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,428 | Depoe Bay OR | 1,533 | $85K | 8.0% | 12.9% | 12% | C+ |
| 2,429 | Smith Township IN | 1,096 | $67K | 10.7% | 7.1% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | 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 Thunder Mountain, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
How Thunder Mountain compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Edgewood (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Thunder Mountain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Mountain | – | C+ | D | 33 min | $47,309 |
| Edgewood | 6% | B− | B− | 36 min | $84,761 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Thunder Mountain’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 Thunder Mountain: questions
What is the median household income in Thunder Mountain?
$47,309 (±$38,132) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thunder Mountain?
2.9%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thunder Mountain?
33 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thunder Mountain work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (28%, 24 mi), Kirtland AFB (16%, 19 mi), Santa Fe (10%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Thunder Mountain walkable?
Thunder Mountain is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Thunder Mountain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thunder Mountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thunder Mountain
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.