Photo: Steven Baltakatei Sandoval · CC BY-SA 4.0Work means Blanding for more than half of White Mesa’s working residents
No jobs are based in White Mesa in the Census job records; 81 of its residents work elsewhere. Hardly any work in White Mesa itself; outside it, Blanding draws the most (52%, 11 miles). Working residents average 16 minutes each way (Utah 22, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of White Mesa
On a workday 81 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43 people are in White Mesa on a workday afternoon, 65% fewer than live here.
0.00 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.
Commuting out of White Mesa: the destinations
Where White Mesa clocks in
52% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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 long White Mesa spends getting to work: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Mesa workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 54 commuters (the 18% 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.
Miles to work from White Mesa
About 21% 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 White Mesa: questions
What is the poverty rate in White Mesa?
16.9%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Mesa?
16 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Mesa work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around White Mesa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 24% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White Mesa, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Mesa
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.