Photo: Wusel007 · CC BY-SA 3.0At 5.8%, unemployment in Douglas is higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 17 minutes, next to 19 for Wyoming and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Douglas are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. About half stay in Douglas for work; outside it, Casper is the main destination (8%, 47 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Douglas apart on work
Douglas’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Douglas is Casper, 47 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (229) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Douglas go to people who live here
Of the 2,784 jobs based in Douglas, 49% are held by Douglas residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. 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.
Where Douglas’ Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Douglas is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #21 of 28 in Wyoming. Household income holds Douglas’ grade up ($83,147, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 9% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Douglas could be anywhere from D to B−.
Douglas’ commute, mile by mile
About 26% 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.
In and out of Douglas on a workday
On a workday 1,595 residents head out to work, 1,360 work right here, and 1,424 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 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.
Where Douglas’ working residents head each day
Where Douglas clocks in
2% 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 kinds of work in Douglas
2,784 jobs are based in Douglas.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Douglas, 2013 → 2023: 2,862 → 2,784. 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 Douglas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Douglas’ commute takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Douglas workers work from home, vs 9% across Wyoming. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,042 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Wyoming: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Douglas, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Douglas is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #4 of 28 in Wyoming. Both inputs place Douglas 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 3,245 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 10.6% of Douglas households have no vehicle (Wyoming 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Douglas’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Douglas ranks: 2,688th of 3,306 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Ranchettes WY | 5,949 | $121K | 2.9% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,371 | Worland WY | 4,730 | $63K | 10.7% | 3.1% | 55% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,549 | Powell WY | 6,574 | $64K | 12.8% | 3.7% | 44% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,686 | Benton Township IL | 8,535 | $56K | 17.1% | 4.9% | 19% | C− |
| 2,687 | Belleview FL | 6,512 | $58K | 16.8% | 5.9% | 4% | C− |
| 2,688 | Douglas WY | 6,469 | $83K | 15.6% | 5.8% | 46% | C− |
| 2,689 | Sheridan AR | 5,406 | $62K | 19.9% | 5.9% | 24% | C− |
| 2,690 | Waite Park MN | 8,450 | $59K | 21.2% | 7.5% | 12% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Douglas, the top three, the last and three more from Wyoming.
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 Douglas: questions
What is the median household income in Douglas?
$83,147 (±$19,312) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,176 across Wyoming and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Douglas?
15.6%, against 10.5% across Wyoming and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Douglas?
17 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Wyoming and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Douglas work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Casper (8%, 47 mi), Gillette (2%, 105 mi), Cheyenne (2%, 116 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Douglas walkable?
Douglas is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Douglas without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Douglas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Douglas
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.