Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0Most of Metzger commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Jobs and income earn Metzger A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. 506 jobs are based in Metzger for 2,086 working residents. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Metzger: the gist
Most Metzger residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Metzger and Portland trade workers both ways
Portland is the top workplace for Metzger residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Metzger come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Metzger is a place people come home to
There are 506 jobs based in Metzger, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Metzger has about 2,100 people in it, 43% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Metzger
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Metzger is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #19 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Metzger could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Metzger
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.
32% of working residents work in Portland
Where Metzger clocks in
12% of workers
9% 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.
Who leaves Metzger for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,073 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 493 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Metzger on a workday afternoon, 43% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Metzger
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Metzger, 2013 → 2023: 383 → 506. 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 Metzger’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Metzger, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Metzger workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,290 commuters (the 25% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Metzger
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Metzger is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #85 of 142 in Oregon. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 1,716 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 56% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 10.0% of Metzger households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Metzger’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000, Metzger ranks 849th of 4,318 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Hubbard OR | 3,399 | $102K | 3.6% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 330 | Beavercreek OR | 4,894 | $135K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 373 | Millersburg OR | 3,583 | $125K | 5.1% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 847 | Washington Township PA | 3,175 | $89K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| 848 | Fruit Hill OH | 4,200 | $107K | 6.8% | 4.0% | 1% | A− |
| 849 | Metzger OR | 3,714 | $91K | 7.6% | 3.8% | 1% | A− |
| 850 | Mitchellville IA | 2,671 | $81K | 10.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| 851 | Hometown IL | 4,191 | $61K | 6.9% | 2.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | 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 Metzger, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
21% of Metzger works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Tigard (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Metzger workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metzger | – | A− | A− | 23 min | $91,102 |
| Tigard | 12% | A− | A | 23 min | $108,823 |
| Garden Home-Whitford | under 2% | A− | A+ | 23 min | $97,500 |
| Beaverton | 9% | B+ | A+ | 24 min | $98,622 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Metzger’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 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 Metzger: questions
What is the median household income in Metzger?
$91,102 (±$21,688) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Metzger?
7.6%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Metzger?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Metzger work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (32%, 8 mi), Tigard (12%, 2 mi), Beaverton (9%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Metzger walkable?
Metzger is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Metzger without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 56% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Metzger, from the people who make the trip.
More of Metzger
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.