Opal has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 12 jobs in Opal; 21 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Opal for work; outside it, Kemmerer is the main destination (24%, 12 miles). Commuters spend 37 minutes getting to work on average, where Wyoming has 19 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Opal
On a workday 21 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.
About 57 people are in Opal on a workday afternoon, 14% 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.
Out of Opal to work: where people go
Where Opal clocks in
14% of workers
10% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Opal
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Opal, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 12. 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 Opal’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Opal spends getting to work: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Opal workers work from home, vs 9% across Wyoming. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21 commuters (the 5% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Opal
About 50% 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 Opal: questions
What is the poverty rate in Opal?
0.0%, against 10.5% across Wyoming and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Opal?
37 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Wyoming and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Opal work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kemmerer (24%, 12 mi), Afton (14%, 73 mi), Marbleton (10%, 56 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Opal without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Opal, from the people who make the trip.
More of Opal
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.