Benjamin and Olivia Meek House · Photo: Ntsimp · CC0Draper has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 14.8 in Salt Lake City. Below the poverty line: 6.1% of residents, next to 8.5% for Utah as a whole. Draper grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Draper: the gist
Jobs in Draper have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Draper went from 22,797 in 2013 to 46,467 in 2023, +104%. The jobs ↓
Draper is where the jobs are
Draper has 46,467 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 74,000 people are in town, 46% more than the 51,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Draper’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Draper is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #17 of 119 in Utah. Household income is its strongest input ($128,910, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Draper could be anywhere from A to A+.
65% of the jobs in Draper pay over $3,333 a month
46,467 jobs are based in Draper.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Draper, 2013 → 2023: 22,797 → 46,467. 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 Draper’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Draper on a workday afternoon
On a workday 19,963 residents head out to work, 3,130 work right here, and 43,337 people come in from elsewhere.
About 74,000 people are in Draper on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Who travels to work in Draper, and from where
Where Draper clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
The daily trip from Draper: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Draper workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,298 commuters (the 25% 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 it is to work from Draper
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.
Draper is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Draper is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #38 of 119 in Utah. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.0% across Utah.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 24,491 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 23% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 2.9% of Draper households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Draper’s commuters take a bus or train.
Draper is 63rd of 904 U.S. towns of 35,000 to 68,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Syracuse UT | 39,909 | $133K | 4.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Spring Hill TN | 61,336 | $112K | 4.3% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| 62 | Orange Township OH | 41,832 | $146K | 4.4% | 3.5% | 7% | A |
| 63 | Draper UT | 50,652 | $129K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 14% | A |
| 64 | Eden Prairie MN | 63,075 | $130K | 4.6% | 3.6% | 19% | A |
| 65 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Riverton UT | 47,395 | $127K | 3.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Pleasant Grove UT | 37,773 | $101K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 904 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Draper, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
Next door is work for 18% of Draper
The biggest share goes to Sandy (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Draper workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draper | – | A | A− | 24 min | $128,910 |
| Riverton | under 3% | A | A | 25 min | $126,910 |
| South Jordan | 4% | A+ | A | 24 min | $134,047 |
| Sandy | 9% | A | A− | 23 min | $112,176 |
| Bluffdale | under 3% | A+ | B | 21 min | $129,531 |
| Lehi | 5% | A | B+ | 24 min | $131,299 |
| Alpine | under 3% | A | B− | 30 min | $168,929 |
| Highland | under 3% | A | A− | 23 min | $186,075 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Draper’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Draper: questions
What is the median household income in Draper?
$128,910 (±$7,478) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Draper?
6.1%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Draper?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Draper work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salt Lake City (18%, 20 mi), Sandy (9%, 5 mi), Lehi (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Draper walkable?
Draper is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Draper without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Draper, from the people who make the trip.
More of Draper
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.