Work & commute · Baker

Work & commute in Baker, OR

53% of Baker’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are La Grande (5%), Portland (3%) and Pendleton (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53%

1,965 of 3,686 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,721 Baker residents head out of town to work, 1,965 work right here, and 1,860 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Baker.

1,721live here, work elsewhere

1,965live and work here

1,860work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Baker goes to work

Baker City (in town)right here

53%1,965

La Grande39.9 mi away

5%184

Portland240.5 mi away

3%123

Pendleton78.6 mi away

2%72

Sumpter18.1 mi away

2%68

Richland32.5 mi away

2%66

Enterprise52.4 mi away

1%39

Bend178.6 mi away

1%29

Salem254.5 mi away

1%25

Ontario66.8 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%1,091

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

How far

How far Baker commutes

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

57%

11%

28%

57%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Baker is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Baker are

3,825 jobs are based in Baker. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baker’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Baker

3,825 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Baker residents hold

3,686 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−3%

Jobs based in Baker, 2013 → 2023: 3,933 → 3,825. 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.