Watrous · Photo: Donald W. Dickensheets, Photographer · Public domainWith 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Watrous works elsewhere
3 jobs are based in Watrous, and 15 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Watrous for work; outside it, Albuquerque is the main destination (20%, 105 miles). 0% of workers work from home, against 12% across New Mexico.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Watrous: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 15 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 3 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30 people are in Watrous on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Watrous commutes to
Where Watrous clocks in
20% of workers
13% of workers
13% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Watrous
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watrous, 2014 → 2024: 72 → 3. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watrous’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Watrous
of Watrous workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42 commuters (the 0% 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.
Miles to work from Watrous
About 47% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Watrous: questions
What is the poverty rate in Watrous?
0.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Watrous work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (20%, 105 mi), Wagon Mound (13%, 21 mi), Las Vegas (13%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Watrous 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 Watrous, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watrous
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.