Photo: Trashbag · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in John Day have lower incomes than those in 77% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland. 12.9% of residents are in poverty, where Oregon as a whole has 11.9%. For jobs and income John Day is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in John Day: the figures worth knowing
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from John Day are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 23 across Oregon. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oregon worker. Time on the road ↓
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 688 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in John Day
The poverty rate holds John Day’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (6.9%) is left out: John Day’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, John Day could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How far it is to work from John Day
About 37% 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.
The trip to work from John Day: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of John Day workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 686 commuters (the 10% 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 workday shuffle in and out of John Day
On a workday 442 residents head out to work, 246 work right here, and 755 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in John Day on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 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.
9% of working residents work in Long Creek
Where John Day clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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 1,001 jobs based in John Day
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in John Day, 2013 → 2023: 1,144 → 1,001. 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 John Day’s own residents hold wherever they work.
John Day is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 761 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% 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 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 6.1% of John Day households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of John Day’s commuters take a bus or train.
5,045th of 6,161: where John Day ranks among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Dunthorpe OR | 1,875 | $250K | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Boring OR | 1,869 | $159K | 3.8% | 6.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 241 | Stafford OR | 1,600 | $163K | 6.9% | 5.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,043 | Rancho Alegre TX | 1,337 | $49K | 23.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D |
| 5,044 | Geneva IN | 1,293 | $53K | 21.5% | 5.9% | 3% | D |
| 5,045 | John Day OR | 1,634 | $58K | 12.9% | 6.9% | 36% | D |
| 5,046 | Guernsey WY | 1,104 | $50K | 10.1% | 8.9% | 25% | D |
| 5,047 | Bridgewater NY | 1,514 | $45K | 18.3% | 4.1% | 5% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | 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 John Day, 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 John Day: questions
What is the median household income in John Day?
$57,891 (±$20,634) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in John Day?
12.9%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from John Day?
17 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in John Day work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Long Creek (9%, 22 mi), Portland (5%, 196 mi), Canyon City (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is John Day walkable?
John Day is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around John Day without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from John Day, from the people who make the trip.
More of John Day
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.