Work & commute · Waterflow

Work & commute in Waterflow, NM

Most working residents leave Waterflow for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Farmington (36%), Albuquerque (8%) and Shiprock (6%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21 of 385 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 364 Waterflow residents head out of town to work, 21 work right here, and 630 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waterflow.

364live here, work elsewhere

21live and work here

630work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waterflow goes to work

Farmington16.3 mi away

36%137

Albuquerque153.2 mi away

8%29

Shiprock12.3 mi away

6%22

Waterflow (in town)right here

5%21

Fruitland4.5 mi away

4%17

Kirtland6 mi away

3%11

Aztec28.3 mi away

2%6

Durango, CO48.4 mi away

1%5

Gallup87.1 mi away

1%5

Rio Rancho142 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%128

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

How far

How far Waterflow commutes

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

27%

47%

22%

27%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waterflow is a job hub

1.69jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Waterflow are

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

Jobs based in Waterflow

651 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)42%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Waterflow residents hold

385 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+21%

Jobs based in Waterflow, 2013 → 2023: 537 → 651. 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.