Photo: User:CookieMonster755 · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Medford (5.3%) than in 65% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland. Medford grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. 10% of workers work from home; Oregon has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Medford, in a few figures
The four measures behind Medford’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Medford is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #82 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds Medford’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.2%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Medford could be anywhere from C to B−.
Medford’s commute takes 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 Medford workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 34,884 commuters (the 11% 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 Medford
On a workday 15,264 residents head out to work, 18,634 work right here, and 31,119 people come in from elsewhere.
About 102,000 people are in Medford on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Medford goes to work
Where Medford clocks in
4% of workers
4% 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 49,753 jobs based in Medford
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Medford, 2014 → 2024: 43,612 → 49,753. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Medford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Medford commutes
About 15% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Medford, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Medford is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #72 of 142 in Oregon. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.4% across Oregon.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 38,983 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, 36% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 6.8% of Medford households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Medford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Medford places 393rd of 519 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 61,000 to 117,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Hillsboro OR | 111,126 | $106K | 8.5% | 4.8% | 33% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 213 | Beaverton OR | 97,842 | $99K | 10.1% | 4.4% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 252 | Bend OR | 107,342 | $96K | 8.8% | 3.7% | 60% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 391 | Upper Darby Township PA | 85,458 | $71K | 14.4% | 8.9% | 8% | C+ |
| 392 | Duluth MN | 88,330 | $69K | 16.8% | 4.7% | 63% | C+ |
| 393 | Medford OR | 86,494 | $73K | 13.2% | 5.3% | 55% | C+ |
| 394 | Deerfield Beach FL | 89,339 | $60K | 15.1% | 5.4% | 12% | C+ |
| 395 | Westland MI | 82,333 | $62K | 14.3% | 6.0% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Medford, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Medford and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Central Point (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Medford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medford | – | C+ | A | 17 min | $73,230 |
| Central Point | 4% | B+ | A− | 16 min | $86,058 |
| Phoenix | 1% | B− | A | 19 min | $66,508 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Medford’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 2024, 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 Medford: questions
What is the median household income in Medford?
$73,230 (±$3,573) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Medford?
13.2%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Medford?
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 Medford work?
55% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ashland (4%, 13 mi), Central Point (4%, 4 mi), Grants Pass (4%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Medford walkable?
Medford is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Medford without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Medford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Medford
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.