Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0More people are out of work in Eugene (7.6%) than in 86% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 18 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. Eugene grades C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Eugene in brief
The figures behind Eugene’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Eugene is better than 29% of U.S. towns, #98 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds Eugene’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Eugene stays C.
About 18 minutes each way for Eugene’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eugene workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 72,606 commuters (the 17% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Eugene
On a workday 29,423 residents head out to work, 37,604 work right here, and 49,937 people come in from elsewhere.
About 199,000 people are in Eugene on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 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.
11% of working residents work in Springfield
Where Eugene clocks in
11% 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.
What Eugene’s employers do
87,541 jobs are based in Eugene.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eugene, 2013 → 2023: 79,254 → 87,541. 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 Eugene’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Eugene
About 20% 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.
Eugene is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Eugene is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #5 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Eugene 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 87,800 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 37% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 10.2% of Eugene households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Eugene’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Eugene ranks: 140th of 167 U.S. towns of 125,000 to 241,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Salem OR | 181,779 | $75K | 14.4% | 5.8% | 49% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Paradise NV | 185,913 | $59K | 17.6% | 9.8% | 37% | C |
| 139 | Mobile AL | 200,824 | $54K | 18.4% | 5.6% | 62% | C |
| 140 | Eugene OR | 178,618 | $67K | 19.0% | 7.6% | 56% | C |
| 141 | Center Township IN | 155,258 | $55K | 24.7% | 6.8% | 32% | C |
| 142 | Paterson NJ | 161,793 | $56K | 21.2% | 10.7% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 167 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Eugene, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Work next door: 11% of Eugene’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eugene workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eugene | – | C | A+ | 18 min | $66,562 |
| Santa Clara | under 1% | B+ | A | 21 min | $88,344 |
| River Road | under 1% | C+ | A | 19 min | $81,589 |
| Springfield | 11% | C+ | A | 19 min | $68,761 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Eugene’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 Eugene: questions
What is the median household income in Eugene?
$66,562 (±$2,212) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eugene?
19.0%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eugene?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eugene work?
56% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (11%, 7 mi), Portland (4%, 105 mi), Salem (2%, 60 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eugene walkable?
Eugene is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eugene without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 37% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eugene, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eugene
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.