Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Households in Bend have higher incomes than those in 74% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland. Below the poverty line: 8.8% of residents, next to 11.9% across Oregon. The two grades for Bend are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Bend apart on work
Most jobs in Bend go to people who live here
Of the 54,956 jobs based in Bend, 48% are held by Bend residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Bend are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 23 across Oregon. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oregon worker. Time on the road ↓
Bend has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Bend went from 39,604 in 2013 to 54,956 in 2023, +39%. The jobs ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Bend: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bend is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #40 of 142 in Oregon. Household income is its strongest input ($96,394, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bend could be anywhere from B to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Bend
On a workday 17,739 residents head out to work, 26,537 work right here, and 28,419 people come in from elsewhere.
About 118,000 people are in Bend on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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.
Getting to work from Bend takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bend workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 41,373 commuters (the 25% 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.
65% of the jobs in Bend pay over $3,333 a month
54,956 jobs are based in Bend.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bend, 2013 → 2023: 39,604 → 54,956. 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 Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
5% of working residents work in Portland
Where Bend clocks in
5% 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.
Where in the region Bend works
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.
Bend is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bend is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #50 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Bend 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 55,002 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 59% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 4.8% of Bend households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Ranked on jobs and income, Bend is 177th among 403 U.S. towns of 75,000 to 145,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Hillsboro OR | 111,126 | $106K | 8.5% | 4.8% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Beaverton OR | 97,842 | $99K | 10.1% | 4.4% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Orem UT | 95,214 | $83K | 10.2% | 3.9% | 21% | B+ |
| 176 | Temecula CA | 114,865 | $121K | 7.3% | 5.7% | 22% | B+ |
| 177 | Bend OR | 107,342 | $96K | 8.8% | 3.7% | 60% | B+ |
| 178 | San Buenaventura (Ventura) CA | 109,914 | $103K | 10.4% | 4.8% | 30% | B+ |
| 179 | Bloomington IL | 78,804 | $77K | 11.0% | 2.7% | 46% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 268 | Gresham OR | 111,513 | $78K | 13.0% | 5.6% | 16% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 403 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Bend, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Bend and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bend workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bend | – | B+ | A | 16 min | $96,394 |
| Tetherow | under 1% | — | — | 10 min | — |
| Deschutes River Woods | under 1% | B+ | B | 26 min | $91,960 |
Same-state neighbors only. Tetherow: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bend’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 Bend: questions
What is the median household income in Bend?
$96,394 (±$4,795) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bend?
8.8%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bend?
16 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bend work?
60% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (5%, 122 mi), Redmond (5%, 15 mi), Salem (2%, 104 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bend walkable?
Bend is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bend without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bend
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.