Photo: Jonathan Green · CC BY-SA 4.0At 1.1%, unemployment in Thermopolis is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
More than half stay in Thermopolis for work; outside it, Worland is the main destination (4%, 29 miles). The two grades for Thermopolis are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Working residents average 14 minutes each way, next to 19 for Wyoming and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Thermopolis
Most jobs in Thermopolis go to people who live here
Of the 1,302 jobs based in Thermopolis, 49% are held by Thermopolis residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Thermopolis are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 19 across Wyoming. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wyoming 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.
How Thermopolis earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Thermopolis is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #16 of 28 in Wyoming. Unemployment holds Thermopolis’ grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Thermopolis could be anywhere from D to B.
The daily commute in and out of Thermopolis
On a workday 580 residents head out to work, 643 work right here, and 659 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 (1.06 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.
A commute of about 14 minutes in Thermopolis
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thermopolis workers work from home, vs 9% across Wyoming. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,114 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.
Where Thermopolis goes to work
Where Thermopolis clocks in
4% of workers
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.
Most jobs in Thermopolis are in services
1,302 jobs are based in Thermopolis.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thermopolis, 2013 → 2023: 1,613 → 1,302. 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 Thermopolis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Thermopolis to work
About 28% 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 Thermopolis, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Thermopolis is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #3 of 28 in Wyoming. Both inputs place Thermopolis 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 1,191 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). 1.6% of Thermopolis households have no vehicle (Wyoming 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Thermopolis’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Thermopolis is 3,257th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 964 | Bar Nunn WY | 3,012 | $99K | 2.2% | 3.6% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,231 | South Park WY | 2,093 | $116K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,416 | North Rock Springs WY | 2,277 | $104K | 9.0% | 1.6% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,255 | Ellinwood KS | 1,969 | $56K | 14.1% | 2.0% | 17% | C |
| 3,256 | Riverview MO | 2,330 | $48K | 24.9% | 4.9% | 1% | C |
| 3,257 | Thermopolis WY | 2,721 | $65K | 18.6% | 1.1% | 53% | C |
| 3,258 | Snyder Township PA | 3,320 | $71K | 7.8% | 10.5% | 16% | C |
| 3,259 | Olivia MN | 2,288 | $63K | 13.3% | 3.1% | 30% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Thermopolis, the top three, the last and three more from Wyoming.
The towns around Thermopolis
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Thermopolis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermopolis | – | C | A | 14 min | $65,208 |
| East Thermopolis | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Thermopolis: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Thermopolis’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 Thermopolis: questions
What is the median household income in Thermopolis?
$65,208 (±$25,048) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,176 across Wyoming and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thermopolis?
18.6%, against 10.5% across Wyoming and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thermopolis?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Wyoming and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thermopolis work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worland (4%, 29 mi), Casper (2%, 110 mi), Cody (2%, 74 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Thermopolis walkable?
Thermopolis is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Thermopolis without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thermopolis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thermopolis
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.