Work & commute · Flagstaff

Work & commute in Flagstaff, AZ

62% of Flagstaff’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Phoenix (8%), Tempe (2%) and Scottsdale (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

62%

18,635 of 30,173 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,538 Flagstaff residents head out of town to work, 18,635 work right here, and 18,077 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Flagstaff.

11,538live here, work elsewhere

18,635live and work here

18,077work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Flagstaff goes to work

Flagstaff (in town)right here

62%18,635

Phoenix114.7 mi away

8%2,466

Tempe125.5 mi away

2%522

Scottsdale104.7 mi away

2%485

Mesa123.6 mi away

1%382

Prescott62.3 mi away

1%320

Sedona24.7 mi away

1%273

Doney Park7.9 mi away

1%265

Tucson214 mi away

1%243

Prescott Valley56.7 mi away

1%231

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%6,351

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Flagstaff commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

66%

29%

66%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Flagstaff is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Flagstaff are

36,712 jobs are based in Flagstaff. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Flagstaff’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Flagstaff

36,712 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Flagstaff residents hold

30,173 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+18%

Jobs based in Flagstaff, 2013 → 2023: 31,242 → 36,712. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.