Work & commute · Thoreau

Work & commute in Thoreau, NM

Most working residents leave Thoreau for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Gallup (28%), Albuquerque (14%) and Grants (5%). Half commute less than 35 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20 of 328 working residents

Typical commute

35 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

47 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 308 Thoreau residents head out of town to work, 20 work right here, and 183 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thoreau.

308live here, work elsewhere

20live and work here

183work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Thoreau goes to work

Gallup31.2 mi away

28%93

Albuquerque90.4 mi away

14%47

Thoreau (in town)right here

6%20

Grants27.9 mi away

5%17

Farmington91.9 mi away

4%12

Milan23.4 mi away

3%10

Crownpoint21.6 mi away

3%9

St. Michaels, AZ53 mi away

2%8

Las Cruces228.8 mi away

2%6

Zuni Pueblo44.4 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%100

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

How far

How far Thoreau commutes

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

41%

43%

7%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

41%25–50 mi

43%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Thoreau is a commuter town

0.62jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Thoreau are

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

Jobs based in Thoreau

203 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less33%

$1,251–$3,333 a month48%

Over $3,333 a month19%

Jobs Thoreau residents hold

328 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−47%

Jobs based in Thoreau, 2013 → 2023: 383 → 203. 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.