Altamont has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
For 8% of workers, the job is at home, against 19% across Oregon. Employers in Altamont report 4,000 jobs; 7,614 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Altamont D; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Altamont apart on work
Altamont and Klamath Falls trade workers both ways
Klamath Falls is the top workplace for Altamont residents (43%) and also where the most people who work in Altamont come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Altamont residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Altamont are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 23 across Oregon. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oregon 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Altamont
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Altamont is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #121 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds Altamont’s grade up (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.4%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Altamont could be anywhere from D to C.
43% of working residents work in Klamath Falls
Where Altamont clocks in
43% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
How far it is to work from Altamont
About 24% 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.
About 15 minutes each way, quicker than most of Oregon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Altamont workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,764 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 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.
A workday in Altamont: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 6,308 residents head out to work, 1,306 work right here, and 2,694 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Altamont on a workday afternoon, 18% 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.
The kinds of work in Altamont
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Altamont, 2013 → 2023: 3,681 → 4,000. 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 Altamont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Altamont start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Altamont is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #105 of 142 in Oregon. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.4% across Oregon.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,390 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 35% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 6.4% of Altamont households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Altamont’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Altamont sits among U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 398 | Sherwood OR | 20,535 | $110K | 4.3% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 442 | West Linn OR | 26,567 | $147K | 5.5% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Canby OR | 18,004 | $101K | 7.9% | 4.0% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,767 | Paris TX | 25,205 | $47K | 26.0% | 5.3% | 47% | D |
| 1,768 | Deming NM | 14,944 | $34K | 30.9% | 2.7% | 45% | D |
| 1,769 | Altamont OR | 19,927 | $59K | 16.9% | 7.4% | 17% | D |
| 1,770 | Gallup NM | 19,969 | $58K | 26.8% | 5.7% | 63% | D |
| 1,771 | Lumberton NC | 18,955 | $43K | 30.8% | 5.6% | 34% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Altamont, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
43% of Altamont works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Altamont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altamont | – | D | B+ | 15 min | $58,629 |
| Klamath Falls | 43% | D | A+ | 14 min | $46,693 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Klamath Falls. Darker towns draw more of Altamont’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 Altamont: questions
What is the median household income in Altamont?
$58,629 (±$5,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Altamont?
16.9%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Altamont?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Altamont work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Klamath Falls (43%, 3 mi), Medford (3%, 58 mi), Bend (2%, 130 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Altamont walkable?
Altamont is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Altamont without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 35% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Altamont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Altamont
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.