Jacob Conser House · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Jefferson has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
352 jobs are based in Jefferson; 1,423 of its residents have a job. Jefferson grades B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 78% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Jefferson: the gist
Jefferson and Salem trade workers both ways
Salem is the top workplace for Jefferson residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Jefferson come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Jefferson is a place people come home to
There are 352 jobs based in Jefferson, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Jefferson has about 2,200 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Jefferson
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jefferson is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #71 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds Jefferson’s grade up ($102,159, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jefferson could be anywhere from C to A.
25% of working residents work in Salem
Where Jefferson clocks in
25% of workers
11% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Jefferson
On a workday 1,380 residents head out to work, 43 work right here, and 309 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Jefferson: what the 352 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 251 → 352. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Jefferson: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,269 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.
How far it is to work from Jefferson
About 21% 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.
Most of Jefferson commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #138 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Jefferson 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 1,525 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.4% of Jefferson households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500, Jefferson comes 2,302nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Hubbard OR | 3,399 | $102K | 3.6% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 376 | Millersburg OR | 3,583 | $125K | 5.1% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 807 | North Plains OR | 3,414 | $118K | 2.9% | 6.4% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,300 | Sullivan Township MI | 2,725 | $65K | 8.0% | 4.6% | 1% | B− |
| 2,301 | Penn Township PA | 4,098 | $61K | 12.0% | 2.0% | 10% | B− |
| 2,302 | Jefferson OR | 3,299 | $102K | 9.2% | 7.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,303 | Bourbon Township IL | 4,173 | $77K | 13.2% | 2.1% | 37% | B− |
| 2,304 | Clinton Township MI | 3,700 | $77K | 4.3% | 7.1% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
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 Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson?
$102,159 (±$14,630) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson?
9.2%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salem (25%, 14 mi), Albany (11%, 8 mi), Portland (8%, 59 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson walkable?
Jefferson is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson
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.