Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in Big Water
The average commute takes 18 minutes each way; Utah averages 22, the U.S. 26. Only 1% stay in Big Water for work; outside it, Orderville is the main destination (17%, 56 miles). Employers in Big Water report 92 jobs; 159 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Big Water, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 157 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 90 people come in from elsewhere.
About 470 people are in Big Water on a workday afternoon, 13% 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.
The towns that employ Big Water’s residents
Where Big Water clocks in
17% of workers
14% of workers
7% 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.
Most jobs in Big Water are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Water, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 92. 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 Big Water’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Utah
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Water workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 115 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Big Water’s workers travel
About 67% 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 Big Water: questions
What is the median household income in Big Water?
$48,750 (±$16,897) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Water?
22.8%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Water?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Water work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Orderville (17%, 56 mi), Page (14%, 12 mi), Kanab (7%, 47 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Water without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Water, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Water
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.