Mountain Meadows Massacre Site · Photo: Mangoman88 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Central commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Central report 26 jobs; 244 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Central for work; outside it, St. George is the main destination (40%, 24 miles). Home is the office for 27% of workers (Utah 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Central and work: the main findings
Central is a place people come home to
There are 26 jobs based in Central, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Central has about 440 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
40% of Central works in St. George
97 working residents, 40%, have their main job in St. George, 24 miles away. That’s 40 times as many as work in Central itself. The commute map ↓
Central workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 22 across Utah. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 107 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; with 244 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who leaves Central for work, and who comes in
On a workday 242 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 24 people come in from elsewhere.
About 440 people are in Central on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
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 Central’s residents
Where Central clocks in
40% 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.
Getting to work from Central takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 217 commuters (the 27% 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.
92% of the jobs in Central make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 12 → 26. 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 Central’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Central to work
About 20% 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 Central: questions
What is the median household income in Central?
$115,486 (±$52,080) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central?
5.0%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central?
36 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. George (40%, 24 mi), Enterprise (14%, 13 mi), Cedar City (7%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Central without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Central, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central
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.