Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in Rufus
The trip to work takes 12 minutes on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home (Oregon 19%). Only 5% stay in Rufus for work; outside it, The Dalles is the main destination (15%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Rufus
On a workday 121 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 68 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240 people are in Rufus on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.58 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.
Out of Rufus to work: where people go
Where Rufus clocks in
15% 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.
Jobs in Rufus: what the 74 are
74 jobs are based in Rufus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rufus, 2013 → 2023: 68 → 74. 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 Rufus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 12 minutes from Rufus
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rufus workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 71 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.
Rufus’ commute, mile by mile
About 46% 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.
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 Rufus: questions
What is the median household income in Rufus?
$39,306 (±$14,093) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rufus?
24.5%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rufus?
12 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rufus work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are The Dalles (15%, 21 mi), Moro (10%, 14 mi), Portland (6%, 93 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rufus without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rufus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rufus
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.