Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY 3.0Barlow at work: jobs, income and the commute
There are 39 jobs in Barlow; 48 of its residents have a job. Only 2% stay in Barlow for work; outside it, Portland is the main destination (29%, 20 miles). The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, where Oregon has 23 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Barlow on a workday afternoon
On a workday 47 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 38 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 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.
Where the trip to work from Barlow ends
Where Barlow clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
Barlow makes things: 28% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barlow, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 39. 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 Barlow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 20 minutes from Barlow
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barlow workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46 commuters (the 22% 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.
How far Barlow’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.
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 Barlow: questions
What is the median household income in Barlow?
$96,250 (±$59,383) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barlow?
7.6%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barlow?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barlow work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (29%, 20 mi), Salem (8%, 27 mi), Lake Oswego (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Barlow without a car?
0% 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 Barlow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barlow
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.