Photo: Brian Burger ("WireLizard") · CC BY 2.0More people are out of work in North Bend (6.5%) than in 78% of U.S. towns
At home: 4% of workers have no commute at all (Oregon 19%). North Bend grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.8 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
The commute and the jobs: North Bend in brief
North Bend trades workers with the towns around it
North Bend has about as many jobs (4,024) as working residents (3,914), but they are mostly different people: 2,995 residents leave for work each day while 3,105 people come in. Only 23% of the jobs in North Bend are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
North Bend and Coos Bay trade workers both ways
Coos Bay is the top workplace for North Bend residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in North Bend come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from North Bend are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 23 across Oregon. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oregon worker. Time on the road ↓
Few North Bend workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 19% across Oregon. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Most North Bend residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
Jobs & income in North Bend: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Bend is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #100 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds North Bend’s grade up ($81,320, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Bend could be anywhere from D to B−.
A workday in North Bend: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,995 residents head out to work, 919 work right here, and 3,105 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 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.
36% of working residents work in Coos Bay
Where North Bend clocks in
36% of workers
2% 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.
About 15 minutes each way for North Bend’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Bend workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,739 commuters (the 4% 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.
North Bend’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Jobs in North Bend: what the 4,024 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Bend, 2013 → 2023: 4,356 → 4,024. 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 North Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: North Bend
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Bend is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #96 of 142 in Oregon. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 4,959 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 7.4% of North Bend households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of North Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
North Bend next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 13,500: 2,178th of 2,744 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Bull Mountain OR | 9,865 | $165K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 199 | Oak Hills OR | 11,131 | $127K | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,176 | Prairie View TX | 8,969 | $21K | 38.1% | 21.9% | 6% | C |
| 2,177 | Penn Forest Township PA | 10,434 | $67K | 10.6% | 9.0% | 6% | C |
| 2,178 | North Bend OR | 9,966 | $81K | 14.0% | 6.5% | 23% | C |
| 2,179 | Defiance Township OH | 13,305 | $66K | 16.1% | 5.3% | 22% | C |
| 2,180 | Oskaloosa IA | 11,493 | $64K | 16.6% | 4.8% | 32% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,744 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 North Bend, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
North Bend and its neighbors: 36% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Bend workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bend | – | C | A− | 15 min | $81,320 |
| Coos Bay | 36% | D | A | 14 min | $56,524 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Coos Bay. Darker towns draw more of North Bend’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 North Bend: questions
What is the median household income in North Bend?
$81,320 (±$14,349) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Bend?
14.0%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Bend?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Bend work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coos Bay (36%, 2 mi), Coquille (2%, 16 mi), Grants Pass (2%, 81 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Bend walkable?
North Bend is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Bend without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Bend
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.