With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of West Mountain works elsewhere
There are 202 jobs in West Mountain, against 615 working residents. The two grades for West Mountain are A for jobs and income and D for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: West Mountain’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, West Mountain is better than 89% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds West Mountain’s grade up (1.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (2.0%) is left out: West Mountain’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Mountain stays A.
Who works in West Mountain, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 607 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 194 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in West Mountain on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
12% of working residents work in Payson
Where West Mountain clocks in
12% of workers
12% 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.
West Mountain makes things: 64% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Mountain, 2013 → 2023: 129 → 202. 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 West Mountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from West Mountain
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Mountain workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 545 commuters (the 16% 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 West Mountain’s workers travel
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.
Few in West Mountain walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Mountain is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place West Mountain 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 650 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 2.2% of West Mountain households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Mountain’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Mountain is 240th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Emigration Canyon UT | 1,417 | $191K | 2.7% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Lake Shore UT | 1,129 | $99K | 0.0% | 20.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 234 | Mantua UT | 1,389 | $142K | 2.4% | 2.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Osborn WI | 1,229 | $93K | 3.3% | 0.7% | <1% | A |
| 239 | Big Grove Township IL | 1,655 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 240 | West Mountain UT | 1,282 | $112K | 1.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A |
| 241 | Clearwater Township MN | 1,421 | $114K | 3.3% | 3.7% | 1% | A |
| 242 | Monroe Township IL | 1,428 | $93K | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 West Mountain, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
12% of West Mountain works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Mountain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Mountain | – | A | D | 25 min | $111,791 |
| Payson | 12% | B | B+ | 23 min | $89,905 |
| Santaquin | under 2% | A− | C+ | 27 min | $99,837 |
| Genola | under 2% | B | C+ | 29 min | $126,667 |
| Spring Lake | under 2% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Spring Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Payson. Darker towns draw more of West Mountain’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 West Mountain: questions
What is the median household income in West Mountain?
$111,791 (±$9,573) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Mountain?
1.2%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Mountain?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Mountain work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Payson (12%, 3 mi), Provo (12%, 15 mi), Orem (8%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Mountain walkable?
West Mountain is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Mountain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Mountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Mountain
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.