Photo: National Scenic Byways Online · Public domainMore people are out of work in Payson (5.8%) than in 72% of U.S. towns
Payson grades B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven work in Payson itself; outside it, Provo draws the most (12%, 15 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes (Utah 22, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Payson
A young workforce
32% of Payson’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Payson has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Payson went from 4,737 in 2013 to 6,572 in 2023, +39%. The jobs ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Payson: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Payson is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #91 of 119 in Utah. Household income holds Payson’s grade up ($89,905, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Payson could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The kinds of work in Payson
6,572 jobs are based in Payson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Payson, 2013 → 2023: 4,737 → 6,572. 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 Payson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Payson
On a workday 9,679 residents head out to work, 1,473 work right here, and 5,099 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Payson on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Out of Payson to work: where people go
Where Payson clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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 Payson: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Payson workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,184 commuters (the 14% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Payson
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.
For most of Payson, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Payson is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #52 of 119 in Utah. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 10,739 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, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 3.2% of Payson households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Payson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,642 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000, Payson comes 974th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Bluffdale UT | 19,506 | $130K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Holladay UT | 31,162 | $117K | 4.1% | 2.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Highland UT | 21,571 | $186K | 1.9% | 3.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 972 | Monterey CA | 28,953 | $103K | 9.8% | 6.0% | 28% | B |
| 973 | Medina OH | 25,692 | $77K | 8.3% | 5.9% | 17% | B |
| 974 | Payson UT | 24,630 | $90K | 7.3% | 5.8% | 13% | B |
| 975 | Queensbury NY | 29,049 | $90K | 8.1% | 4.8% | 22% | B |
| 976 | Watertown SD | 23,736 | $70K | 9.0% | 1.8% | 67% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Payson, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
Around Payson: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Salem (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Payson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | – | B | B+ | 23 min | $89,905 |
| West Mountain | under 3% | A | D | 25 min | $111,791 |
| Spring Lake | under 3% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Elk Ridge | under 3% | A− | C− | 26 min | $143,167 |
| Salem | 2% | A− | B− | 24 min | $111,117 |
Same-state neighbors only. Spring Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Payson’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 Payson: questions
What is the median household income in Payson?
$89,905 (±$6,542) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Payson?
7.3%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Payson?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Payson work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Provo (12%, 15 mi), Spanish Fork (9%, 7 mi), Orem (8%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Payson walkable?
Payson is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Payson without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Payson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Payson
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.