Wallace and Glenn Potter House · Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Eugene draws more than half of River Road’s working residents
River Road grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Commuters spend 19 minutes getting to work on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. Measured by household income, River Road is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: River Road in brief
More than half of River Road works in Eugene
1,916 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Eugene, 2 miles away across the town line. That’s 28 times as many as work in River Road itself. The commute map ↓
Most River Road residents work close to home
76% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
River Road is a place people come home to
There are 587 jobs based in River Road, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday River Road has about 6,100 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Many jobs in River Road pay little
31% of the jobs based in River Road pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside River Road
58% of River Road residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in River Road pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Why River Road gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, River Road is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #79 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds River Road’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, River Road could be anywhere from C to B+.
Where River Road goes to work
Where River Road clocks in
56% of workers
11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from River Road
About 17% 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.
River Road by day and by night
On a workday 3,346 residents head out to work, 52 work right here, and 535 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in River Road on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.17 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 587 jobs based in River Road
587 jobs are based in River Road.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in River Road, 2013 → 2023: 578 → 587. 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 River Road’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from River Road: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of River Road workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,640 commuters (the 14% 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.
River Road is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, River Road is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #66 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place River Road near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,232 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.3% of River Road households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of River Road’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,911th of 2,907: where River Road ranks among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Bull Mountain OR | 9,865 | $165K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 214 | Oak Hills OR | 11,131 | $127K | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 415 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,909 | Lenox NY | 8,541 | $76K | 10.4% | 6.0% | 14% | C+ |
| 1,910 | Fort Knox KY | 8,836 | $83K | 9.0% | 15.1% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,911 | River Road OR | 8,862 | $82K | 14.5% | 7.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 1,912 | Center Township IN | 7,376 | $69K | 9.4% | 4.9% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,913 | Richfield Township MI | 8,941 | $83K | 10.1% | 7.9% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | 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 River Road, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Next door is work for 56% of River Road
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | River Road workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Road | – | C+ | A | 19 min | $81,589 |
| Eugene | 56% | C | A+ | 18 min | $66,562 |
| Santa Clara | under 1% | B+ | A | 21 min | $88,344 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Eugene. Darker towns draw more of River Road’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 River Road: questions
What is the median household income in River Road?
$81,589 (±$11,936) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in River Road?
14.5%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from River Road?
19 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in River Road work?
2% work in town.
Is River Road walkable?
River Road is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around River Road without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from River Road, from the people who make the trip.
More of River Road
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.