Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Pahrump (8.5%) is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Pahrump is better than 10% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (C+). About one in four work in Pahrump itself; outside it, Paradise draws the most (12%, 49 miles). Household incomes here are lower than in 70% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Pahrump: the gist
Most jobs in Pahrump go to people who live here
Of the 6,169 jobs based in Pahrump, 65% are held by Pahrump residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Pahrump’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pahrump is Paradise, 49 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,709) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pahrump has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pahrump went from 4,481 in 2013 to 6,169 in 2023, +38%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Pahrump workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Nevada. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Pahrump earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Pahrump’s grade up (13.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pahrump could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily commute in and out of Pahrump
On a workday 10,127 residents head out to work, 4,006 work right here, and 2,163 people come in from elsewhere.
About 39,000 people are in Pahrump on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.44 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.
How many miles Pahrump commutes
About 35% 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.
What Pahrump’s employers do
6,169 jobs are based in Pahrump.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pahrump, 2013 → 2023: 4,481 → 6,169. 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 Pahrump’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes each way for Pahrump’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pahrump workers work from home, vs 12% across Nevada. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,132 commuters (the 12% 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.
Out of Pahrump to work: where people go
Where Pahrump clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
9% 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 Pahrump, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,906 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). 5.7% of Pahrump households have no vehicle (Nevada 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Pahrump’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Pahrump compares with U.S. towns of 33,000 to 64,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 711 | Carson City NV | 58,571 | $72K | 10.3% | 5.5% | 46% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 713 | Whitney NV | 47,221 | $67K | 14.6% | 6.9% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 858 | Winchester NV | 37,081 | $50K | 23.8% | 9.0% | 6% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 933 | San Luis AZ | 42,030 | $59K | 18.1% | 8.0% | 12% | D |
| 934 | Marion OH | 35,587 | $48K | 22.4% | 9.4% | 17% | D |
| 935 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | D |
| 936 | Clovis NM | 37,127 | $55K | 21.7% | 8.8% | 51% | D |
| 937 | Calexico CA | 38,623 | $50K | 19.7% | 19.4% | 30% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 941 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Pahrump, the top three, the last and three more from Nevada.
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 Pahrump: questions
What is the median household income in Pahrump?
$62,109 (±$6,553) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,260 across Nevada and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pahrump?
13.7%, against 12.4% across Nevada and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pahrump?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Nevada and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pahrump work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paradise (12%, 49 mi), Las Vegas (11%, 41 mi), Tonopah (9%, 145 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pahrump walkable?
Pahrump is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pahrump without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pahrump, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pahrump
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.