Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0At 3.4%, unemployment in Blanding is lower than in 63% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Blanding are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 14.8 in Salt Lake City. For 4% of workers, the job is at home, next to 18% for Utah as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Blanding apart on work
Most jobs in Blanding go to people who live here
Of the 1,764 jobs based in Blanding, 48% are held by Blanding residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Few Blanding workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 18% across Utah. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Blanding are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 22 across Utah. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Utah 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Blanding
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blanding is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #108 of 119 in Utah. Unemployment holds Blanding’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blanding could be anywhere from D to B.
Who works in Blanding, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 739 residents head out to work, 841 work right here, and 923 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 (1.12 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.
The trip to work from Blanding: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blanding workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,294 commuters (the 4% 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.
7% of working residents work in Monticello
Where Blanding clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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.
Jobs in Blanding: what the 1,764 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blanding, 2013 → 2023: 1,756 → 1,764. 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 Blanding’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Blanding
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.
Blanding is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blanding is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #15 of 119 in Utah. Both inputs place Blanding 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 1,352 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 5.2% of Blanding households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Blanding’s commuters take a bus or train.
Blanding next to U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300: 3,401st of 4,698 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Lake Point UT | 2,947 | $137K | 2.0% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 280 | Mountain Green UT | 3,976 | $150K | 0.9% | 1.7% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 427 | East Basin UT | 4,002 | $146K | 7.5% | 0.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,399 | West Newton PA | 2,569 | $53K | 14.5% | 6.1% | 7% | C |
| 3,400 | Pacolet SC | 2,644 | $42K | 15.0% | 3.7% | 1% | C |
| 3,401 | Blanding UT | 3,199 | $72K | 16.8% | 3.4% | 53% | C |
| 3,402 | Tarentum PA | 4,127 | $45K | 14.8% | 6.6% | 5% | C |
| 3,403 | Gold Bar WA | 2,561 | $101K | 12.0% | 6.9% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Blanding, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
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 Blanding: questions
What is the median household income in Blanding?
$71,797 (±$8,134) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blanding?
16.8%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blanding?
15 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blanding work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Monticello (7%, 20 mi), Bluff (3%, 23 mi), Oljato-Monument Valley (2%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blanding walkable?
Blanding is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blanding without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blanding, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blanding
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.