Work means Las Cruces for more than half of Tortugas’ working residents
At home: 6% of workers have no commute at all (New Mexico 12%). Tortugas has 46 jobs for 191 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Tortugas, and who commutes in
On a workday 191 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240 people are in Tortugas on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
The places Tortugas commutes to
Where Tortugas clocks in
53% 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.
In Tortugas, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tortugas, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 46. 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 Tortugas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Tortugas
of Tortugas workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 221 commuters (the 6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Tortugas
About 20% 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.
The towns next door employ 53% of Tortugas
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tortugas workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tortugas | – | — | — | — | $31,554 |
| Las Cruces | 53% | C− | A− | 19 min | $55,422 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Las Cruces. Darker towns draw more of Tortugas’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 Tortugas: questions
What is the median household income in Tortugas?
$31,554 (±$4,371) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tortugas?
0.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Tortugas work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Tortugas without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tortugas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tortugas
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.