Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Fernley has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
The two grades for Fernley are C for jobs and income and B for walkability. Employers in Fernley report 4,644 jobs; 10,964 of its residents have a job. About one in five stay in Fernley for work; outside it, Reno is the main destination (24%, 35 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Fernley apart
Fernley’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Fernley is Reno, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 24% of working residents (2,604) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Fernley go to people who live here
Of the 4,644 jobs based in Fernley, 48% are held by Fernley residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Fernley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fernley is better than 29% of U.S. towns, #33 of 42 in Nevada. Household income holds Fernley’s grade up ($89,517, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fernley could be anywhere from C− to B−.
How far Fernley’s workers travel
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.
How many people are in Fernley by day
On a workday 8,736 residents head out to work, 2,228 work right here, and 2,416 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Fernley on a workday afternoon, 24% 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Fernley goes to work
Where Fernley clocks in
24% of workers
11% 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.
A place that makes things: 29% of Fernley’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fernley, 2013 → 2023: 3,593 → 4,644. 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 Fernley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Fernley: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fernley workers work from home, vs 12% across Nevada. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,809 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Nevada: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Getting around Fernley: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fernley is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #28 of 42 in Nevada. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.6% across Nevada, on an EPA index of 6.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,565 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). 2.0% of Fernley households have no vehicle (Nevada 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fernley’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fernley is 1,337th of 1,576 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Summerlin South NV | 31,354 | $117K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,272 | Sun Valley NV | 22,228 | $77K | 16.8% | 6.7% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,293 | Elko NV | 21,019 | $79K | 13.8% | 5.2% | 56% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,335 | Cohoes NY | 18,518 | $61K | 25.9% | 5.8% | 7% | C |
| 1,336 | Dodge City KS | 27,653 | $69K | 14.6% | 5.6% | 51% | C |
| 1,337 | Fernley NV | 26,214 | $90K | 12.8% | 5.5% | 20% | C |
| 1,338 | Asheboro NC | 27,990 | $47K | 19.7% | 4.0% | 29% | C |
| 1,339 | Martinsburg WV | 19,211 | $60K | 19.8% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Fernley, the top three, the last and three more from Nevada.
Fernley and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fernley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernley | – | C | B | 28 min | $89,517 |
| Wadsworth | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wadsworth: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fernley’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 Fernley: questions
What is the median household income in Fernley?
$89,517 (±$9,581) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,260 across Nevada and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fernley?
12.8%, against 12.4% across Nevada and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fernley?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Nevada and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fernley work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reno (24%, 35 mi), Sparks (11%, 28 mi), Yerington (4%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fernley walkable?
Fernley is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fernley without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fernley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fernley
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.