Photo: Trevor Bexon · CC BY 2.0Reno has 1.3 jobs for every working resident: 84,524 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B−: better than 52% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #14 of 42 in Nevada.
Walkability A: more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns · #6 of 42 in Nevada.
Household incomes here are higher than in 57% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 20 minutes each way (Nevada 25, U.S. 26). More than half work in Reno; the top destination outside it is Sparks (13%, 7 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.5 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 2.7 in Sparks (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Reno
Most jobs in Reno go to people who live here
Of the 161,459 jobs based in Reno, 48% are held by Reno residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Reno are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 25 across Nevada. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Nevada 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.
What’s behind Reno’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Reno is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #14 of 42 in Nevada. Job access by car holds Reno’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Reno could be anywhere from B− to B.
Reno fills up on a workday
On a workday 45,263 residents head out to work, 76,935 work right here, and 84,524 people come in from elsewhere.
About 323,000 people are in Reno on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Nevada
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Reno workers work from home, vs 12% across Nevada. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 123,111 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.
13% of working residents work in Sparks
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Reno clocks in
13% of workers
3% of workers
1% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 161,459 jobs in Reno are
161,459 jobs are based in Reno. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Reno’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Reno, 2013 → 2023: 129,791 → 161,459. 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.
Half of Reno commutes less than 6 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Reno is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Reno is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #6 of 42 in Nevada. Both inputs place Reno 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 140,480 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.4% of Reno households have no vehicle (Nevada 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Reno’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Reno is 46th of 88 U.S. towns of 199,000 to 383,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Reno, the top three, the last and three more from Nevada.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Enterprise NV | 240,464 | $98K | 8.7% | 6.1% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Henderson NV | 353,289 | $90K | 9.0% | 6.8% | 23% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Huntsville AL | 233,627 | $75K | 12.6% | 4.1% | 66% | B |
| 45 | Yonkers NY | 212,603 | $84K | 13.8% | 7.1% | 18% | B− |
| 46 | Reno NV | 283,621 | $81K | 12.6% | 5.1% | 63% | B− |
| 47 | St. Paul MN | 306,684 | $73K | 15.6% | 5.4% | 28% | B− |
| 48 | Orlando FL | 333,888 | $72K | 14.7% | 5.2% | 36% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | North Las Vegas NV | 296,653 | $80K | 12.1% | 8.5% | 16% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
13% of Reno works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Sparks (13%). Darker towns draw more of Reno’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Reno workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reno | – | B− | A | 20 min | $80,760 |
| Verdi | under 1% | A− | C− | 23 min | $80,670 |
| Lemmon Valley | under 1% | C+ | C+ | 30 min | $76,029 |
| Mogul | under 1% | A+ | D | 20 min | $145,250 |
| Sparks | 13% | B | A− | 24 min | $89,056 |
| Cold Springs | under 1% | A− | C− | 31 min | $93,732 |
| Golden Valley | under 1% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $93,456 |
| Sun Valley | under 1% | C+ | B+ | 26 min | $77,446 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Reno: questions
What is the median household income in Reno?
$80,760 (±$2,418) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,260 across Nevada and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Reno?
12.6%, against 12.4% across Nevada and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Reno?
20 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Nevada and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Reno work?
63% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sparks (13%, 7 mi), Carson City (3%, 28 mi), Paradise (1%, 351 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Reno walkable?
Reno is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Reno without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Reno, from the people who make the trip.
More of Reno
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.