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Jobs & commute in Gopher Flats

With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Gopher Flats works elsewhere

Hardly any work in Gopher Flats; the top destination outside it is Pendleton (34%, 5 miles). Employers in Gopher Flats report 88 jobs, against 176 working residents. The trip to work takes 15 minutes on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

88 jobs based here
Household income
$76K
median · Oregon $83K
Poverty
12.8%
Oregon 11.9%
Unemployment
2.4%
Oregon 5.4% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
15 min
Oregon 23 · U.S. 26
Work in town
1%
1 of 176 working residents
Work from home
16%
Oregon 19% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Gopher Flats

On a workday 175 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 87 people come in from elsewhere.

175live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
87work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night380
Workday290
380live here− 180head out to work+ 87come in to work= 290on a workday

About 290 people are in Gopher Flats on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.50jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Commuting out of Gopher Flats: the destinations

WestonAthena: 2 residents work here (1%)WascoPilot RockStanfieldMilton-Freewater: 2 residents work here (1%)La Grande: 2 residents work here (1%)Umatilla: 4 residents work here (2%)Baker CityHermiston: 5 residents work here (3%)Pendleton: 60 residents work here (34%)Portland: 5 residents work here (3%)Richland: 4 residents work here (2%)Pasco: 3 residents work here (2%)KennewickRiversideGopher FlatsMission: 47 residents work here (27%)PendletonMissionHermistonPortlandUmatillaRichlandGopher Flats
1
Pendleton4.7 mi away
34%60
2
Mission2.8 mi away
27%47
3
Hermiston29.5 mi away
3%5
4
Portland190 mi away
3%5
5
Umatilla34.1 mi away
2%4
6
Richland, WA50.9 mi away
2%4
7
Pasco, WA45.7 mi away
2%3
8
Athena15 mi away
1%2
9
Milton-Freewater24.5 mi away
1%2
10
La Grande38.9 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%42
The top trips

Where Gopher Flats clocks in

34% of workers
4.7 mi awayPendleton60 Gopher Flats residents work here · Jobs & commute →
27%Mission
27% of workers
2.8 mi awayMission47 Gopher Flats residents work here · Jobs & commute →
3% of workers
29.5 mi awayHermiston5 Gopher Flats residents work here · Jobs & commute →

Lines 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.

The jobs

Jobs in Gopher Flats: what the 88 are

Jobs based in Gopher FlatsJobs Gopher Flats residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms18%18%
Trade, transport & utilities28%13%
Services: health, schools, offices53%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less18%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month32%29%
Over $3,333 a month50%59%

Who does it

29 or younger26%21%
30 to 5442%45%
55 and older32%34%
−47%

Jobs based in Gopher Flats, 2013 → 2023: 165 → 88. 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 Gopher Flats’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Getting to work from Gopher Flats takes about 15 minutes

A year of commuting
113 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Gopher Flats15 min
Oregon23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
17%

of Gopher Flats workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Gopher Flats gets to work
57%Drive alone
36%Carpool
7%Transit

Share of the 132 commuters (the 16% 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

Half of Gopher Flats commutes less than 4 miles

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miPendleton: 34% · 4.7 miMission: 27% · 2.8 miHermiston: 3% · 29.5 miPortland: 3% · 190 miUmatilla: 2% · 34.1 miRichland: 2% · 50.9 miPasco: 2% · 45.7 miAthena: 1% · 15 miMilton-Freewater: 1% · 24.5 miLa Grande: 1% · 38.9 miPendleton 34%Mission 27%Hermiston 3%Portland 3%Umatilla 2%Gopher Flats
Gopher FlatsTop destinations (size = commuters)
63%Under 10 mi110 residents
4%10–24 mi7 residents
16%25–50 mi27 residents
17%Over 50 mi30 residents

About 17% 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.

Next door

Gopher Flats and its neighbors: 27% work next door

Riverside: few work hereMission: 27% of workers work hereRiversideMissionGopher Flats
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Riverside11 min
Mission12 min
Gopher Flats15 min
Riversideunder 2% of Gopher FlatsMission27% of Gopher Flats works here

Jobs & commute next door

TownGopher Flats workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Gopher Flats–——15 min$76,250
Riversideunder 2%——11 min—
Mission27%——12 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Riverside and Mission: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

The biggest share goes to Mission. Darker towns draw more of Gopher Flats’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Gopher Flats: questions

What is the median household income in Gopher Flats?

$76,250 (±$18,091) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Gopher Flats?

12.8%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Gopher Flats?

15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Gopher Flats work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pendleton (34%, 5 mi), Mission (27%, 3 mi), Hermiston (3%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Gopher Flats without a car?

7% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Gopher Flats, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Gopher Flats

Gopher Flats home →
$878median rent
HousingLive where you work?Homes and rent in Gopher Flats
15min commute
HandbookGetting around Gopher FlatsRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in ORShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.