Photo: incommunicado · CC BY 2.0Households in Boring have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Boring is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (C−). Below the poverty line: 3.8% of residents (Oregon 11.9%). Only 4% work in Boring; the top destination outside it is Portland (30%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Boring
Boring workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 51 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 391 hours of commuting, 215 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Boring and Portland trade workers both ways
Portland is the top workplace for Boring residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Boring come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Boring makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Boring are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Boring residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 23%. 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; with 870 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Boring’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($158,625, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (6.0%) is left out: Boring’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Boring could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Time on the road from Boring: about 51 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boring workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 741 commuters (the 18% 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.
Commuting out of Boring: the destinations
Where Boring clocks in
9% of workers
3% 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.
37% of the jobs in Boring make or build things
1,062 jobs are based in Boring.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boring, 2013 → 2023: 834 → 1,062. 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 Boring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Boring
On a workday 839 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 1,031 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Boring on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Boring
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.
Boring is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 905 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 5.2% of Boring households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Boring’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Boring is 201st of 5,656 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Dunthorpe OR | 1,875 | $250K | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 199 | Isle of Hope GA | 2,053 | $105K | 1.4% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| 200 | Knollwood IL | 1,864 | $139K | 7.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 201 | Boring OR | 1,869 | $159K | 3.8% | 6.0% | 4% | A |
| 202 | Ocean Ridge FL | 1,868 | $129K | 6.4% | 2.6% | 3% | A |
| 203 | Maple Plain MN | 1,653 | $94K | 3.7% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Stafford OR | 1,600 | $163K | 6.9% | 5.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 247 | Coburg OR | 1,373 | $98K | 1.5% | 8.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Boring, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Boring and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Damascus (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Boring’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 Boring: questions
What is the median household income in Boring?
$158,625 (±$76,544) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boring?
3.8%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boring?
51 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boring work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (30%, 15 mi), Gresham (9%, 6 mi), Sandy (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boring walkable?
Boring is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boring without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boring
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.