Photo: AllenS · Public domainHousehold incomes in White Rock are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in White Rock; the top destination outside it is Los Alamos (74%, 8 miles). 2.5% of residents live below the poverty line; New Mexico has 17.8%. The two grades for White Rock are A for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: White Rock in brief
More than half of White Rock works in Los Alamos
2,249 working residents, 74%, have their main job in Los Alamos, 7.5 miles away. That’s 19 times as many as work in White Rock itself. The commute map ↓
Most White Rock residents work close to home
79% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
White Rock is a place people come home to
There are 289 jobs based in White Rock, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday White Rock has about 3,000 people in it, 48% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Three in four White Rock workers earn over $40,000 a year
79% of White Rock’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Where White Rock’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, White Rock is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #3 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds White Rock’s grade up (0.2%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, White Rock could be anywhere from A− to A.
Where White Rock goes to work
Where White Rock clocks in
74% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
Half of White Rock commutes less than 7 miles
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 workday shuffle in and out of White Rock
On a workday 2,929 residents head out to work, 111 work right here, and 178 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in White Rock on a workday afternoon, 48% fewer than live here.
0.10 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 kinds of work in White Rock
289 jobs are based in White Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White Rock, 2013 → 2023: 257 → 289. 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 White Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from White Rock: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Rock workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,482 commuters (the 13% 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.
Few in White Rock walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, White Rock is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #53 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place White Rock 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 2,851 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.5% of White Rock households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of White Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
White Rock next to U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700: 554th of 3,476 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 552 | Birmingham Township PA | 4,118 | $215K | 1.7% | 6.7% | 4% | A |
| 553 | South Patrick Shores FL | 7,030 | $86K | 3.3% | 1.0% | 5% | A |
| 554 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| 555 | Hockinson WA | 6,150 | $113K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 2% | A |
| 556 | Larchmont NY | 6,750 | $168K | 1.5% | 10.5% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 726 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 791 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,278 | Eldorado at Santa Fe NM | 5,619 | $107K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | 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 White Rock, 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 White Rock: questions
What is the median household income in White Rock?
$156,639 (±$8,618) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White Rock?
2.5%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Rock?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Rock work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Alamos (74%, 8 mi), Albuquerque (8%, 54 mi), Santa Fe (4%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is White Rock walkable?
White Rock is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around White Rock without a car?
1% 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 White Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Rock
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.