Gordon House · Photo: Andrew Parodi at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Silverton has lower unemployment (1.9%) than 86% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 29 minutes each way; Oregon averages 23, the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Silverton B; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven stay in Silverton for work; outside it, Salem is the main destination (19%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Silverton apart
Silverton and Salem trade workers both ways
Salem is the top workplace for Silverton residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Silverton come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Silverton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Silverton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Silverton is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #50 of 142 in Oregon. Unemployment holds Silverton’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (10.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Silverton could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Commuting out of Silverton: the destinations
Where Silverton clocks in
19% of workers
3% 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.
Commuting from Silverton: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Silverton workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,024 commuters (the 15% 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.
A workday in Silverton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,065 residents head out to work, 694 work right here, and 2,701 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,100 people are in Silverton on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
Inside Silverton’s 3,395 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Silverton, 2013 → 2023: 3,141 → 3,395. 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 Silverton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Silverton works
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.
Most of Silverton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Silverton is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #108 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 4,748 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 56% 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 46% 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). 3.1% of Silverton households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Silverton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Silverton places 1,360th of 2,878 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Bull Mountain OR | 9,865 | $165K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 207 | Oak Hills OR | 11,131 | $127K | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 409 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,358 | Maize KS | 7,853 | $72K | 12.4% | 2.7% | 6% | B |
| 1,359 | Palmyra NJ | 7,664 | $90K | 10.2% | 6.5% | 4% | B |
| 1,360 | Silverton OR | 10,450 | $80K | 10.6% | 1.9% | 15% | B |
| 1,361 | Alondra Park CA | 8,373 | $87K | 12.2% | 5.5% | 2% | B |
| 1,362 | White Knoll SC | 8,310 | $80K | 11.0% | 3.2% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Silverton, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
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 Silverton: questions
What is the median household income in Silverton?
$79,960 (±$9,109) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Silverton?
10.6%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Silverton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Silverton work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salem (19%, 13 mi), Portland (10%, 37 mi), Woodburn (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Silverton walkable?
Silverton is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Silverton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Silverton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Silverton
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.