Photo: Eddie Maloney from North Las Vegas, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Work, pay and getting to work in St. George
Working residents average 17 minutes each way (Utah 22, U.S. 26). For jobs and income St. George is better than 53% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). About two in three work in St. George; the top destination outside it is Washington (6%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in St. George, in a few figures
St. George has added jobs fast
Jobs based in St. George went from 34,877 in 2013 to 56,664 in 2023, +62%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in St. George go to people who live here
Of the 56,664 jobs based in St. George, 45% are held by St. George residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A young workforce
32% of St. George’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Commutes from St. George are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 22 across Utah. That’s about 38 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: St. George’s grade explained
Unemployment holds St. George’s grade up (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. George could be anywhere from C+ to B.
What St. George’s employers do
56,664 jobs are based in St. George.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. George, 2013 → 2023: 34,877 → 56,664. 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 St. George’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in St. George, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 14,237 residents head out to work, 25,546 work right here, and 31,118 people come in from elsewhere.
About 126,000 people are in St. George on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 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 daily trip from St. George: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. George workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,065 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.
Where St. George goes to work
Where St. George clocks in
6% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
How many miles St. George commutes
About 18% 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.
For most of St. George, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 44,379 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.2% of St. George households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of St. George’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
246th of 394: where St. George ranks among U.S. towns of 76,000 to 147,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Sandy UT | 92,386 | $112K | 5.5% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Lehi UT | 95,313 | $131K | 5.0% | 4.0% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 244 | Richmond CA | 114,861 | $95K | 13.5% | 8.3% | 10% | B− |
| 245 | Springdale AR | 90,685 | $70K | 13.4% | 3.7% | 36% | B− |
| 246 | St. George UT | 108,713 | $77K | 11.4% | 3.6% | 64% | B− |
| 247 | Rialto CA | 106,554 | $89K | 12.7% | 7.7% | 9% | B− |
| 248 | Aurora Township IL | 127,446 | $76K | 12.1% | 6.2% | 21% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 St. George, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
St. George and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. George workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George | – | B− | B+ | 17 min | $76,508 |
| Washington | 6% | A− | B− | 18 min | $91,853 |
| Santa Clara | 1% | A− | C+ | 19 min | $96,475 |
| Ivins | 1% | C | B | 18 min | $78,089 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Washington. Darker towns draw more of St. George’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 St. George: questions
What is the median household income in St. George?
$76,508 (±$4,339) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. George?
11.4%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. George?
17 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. George work?
64% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (6%, 6 mi), Hurricane (4%, 13 mi), Salt Lake City (3%, 270 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. George walkable?
St. George is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. George without a car?
1% 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 St. George, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. George
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.