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Grain elevators in Lexington OregonPhoto: Tedder · CC BY 3.0
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Jobs & commute in Lexington

Lexington has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

For 0% of workers, the job is at home, next to 19% for Oregon as a whole. Employers in Lexington report 7 jobs for 85 working residents. Only 1% stay in Lexington for work; outside it, Heppner is the main destination (24%, 9 miles).

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

Day and night

Lexington on a workday afternoon

On a workday 84 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 6 people come in from elsewhere.

84live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
6work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night230
Workday160
230live here− 84head out to work+ 6come in to work= 160on a workday

About 160 people are in Lexington on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.08jobs 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

Where the trip to work from Lexington ends

American Canyon: 1 residents work here (1%)LexingtonIone: 2 residents work here (2%)Heppner: 20 residents work here (24%)ArlingtonBoardman: 2 residents work here (2%)La Grande: 2 residents work here (2%)Hermiston: 5 residents work here (6%)Pendleton: 9 residents work here (11%)Gresham: 2 residents work here (2%)Salem: 2 residents work here (2%)Portland: 4 residents work here (5%)HeppnerPendletonHermistonPortlandIoneBoardmanLexington
1
Heppner8.9 mi away
24%20
2
Pendleton44.9 mi away
11%9
3
Hermiston33.1 mi away
6%5
4
Portland143.6 mi away
5%4
5
Ione7.6 mi away
2%2
6
Boardman27 mi away
2%2
7
La Grande78.2 mi away
2%2
8
Gresham133.5 mi away
2%2
9
Salem166.4 mi away
2%2
10
American Canyon, CA519.2 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
42%36
The top trips

Where Lexington clocks in

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

29% of the jobs in Lexington make or build things

Jobs based in LexingtonJobs Lexington residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms29%25%
Trade, transport & utilities14%18%
Services: health, schools, offices57%58%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less29%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month57%28%
Over $3,333 a month14%56%

Who does it

29 or younger14%22%
30 to 5471%53%
55 and older14%25%
−77%

Jobs based in Lexington, 2013 → 2023: 31 → 7. 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 Lexington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Lexington’s commute takes about 14 minutes

A year of commuting
108 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Lexington14 min
Oregon23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Lexington gets to work
100%Drive alone

Share of the 35 commuters (the 0% 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

Lexington’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miHeppner: 24% · 8.9 miPendleton: 11% · 44.9 miHermiston: 6% · 33.1 miPortland: 5% · 143.6 miIone: 2% · 7.6 miBoardman: 2% · 27 miLa Grande: 2% · 78.2 miGresham: 2% · 133.5 miSalem: 2% · 166.4 miAmerican Canyon: 1% · 519.2 miHeppner 24%Pendleton 11%Hermiston 6%Portland 5%Ione 2%Lexington
LexingtonTop destinations (size = commuters)
30%Under 10 mi25 residents
8%10–24 mi7 residents
24%25–50 mi20 residents
37%Over 50 mi31 residents

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.

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 Lexington: questions

What is the median household income in Lexington?

$40,568 (±$17,484) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Lexington?

7.2%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Lexington?

14 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Lexington work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Heppner (24%, 9 mi), Pendleton (11%, 45 mi), Hermiston (6%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Lexington without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Lexington, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Lexington

Lexington home →

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.