Roseburg Workforce and Commuting Patterns
May 11, 2020 Living in one town and working in another is a regular occurrence for Oregon’s rural workforce. The U.S. Census Bureau provides a web-based application, OnTheMap, containing valuable data on where workers live and where they are employed. Included within the reports are detailed characteristics such as: earnings, industry sector, race, age, ethnicity, workers’ educational attainment, and sex. OnTheMap provides a total of 51 characteristics to filter the analysis reports. The City of Roseburg had 13,591 private primary jobs within the city, based on the latest data available (2017). Seven out of 10 work in the area, but live outside the city of Roseburg.As expected with more densely populated cities, it is common for nearby workers to commute for work. So, which neighboring cities or towns does Roseburg’s workforce come from? Out of the 13,591 workers in Roseburg, roughly 26.8 percent (3,645) are both employed and living within the city of Roseburg. Green, Oregon, a town six miles south of Roseburg, contributes 963 commuters. Sutherlin, a city 14 miles north of Roseburg, was the home of 723 commuters. All other locations supplied Roseburg with 47 percent of employed commuters or 6,329 workers.
The inflow/outflow analysis tool lets you examine different characteristics of those employed within the city of Roseburg. A total of 9,946 workers commute to Roseburg for work, and 41.5 percent earn $1,251 to $3,333 per month. Residents of Roseburg who commute outside of the city for work account for 4,166 persons. More than one-third (36.3%) of Roseburg residents commuting out of town for work earn more than $3,333 per month, compared with 30.4 percent of workers commuting into Roseburg for their jobs.



Data is readily available on where workers live and are employed from the Census OnTheMap website. This data is useful to transportation planners, economic developers, and other planners who can use this data to analyze how far employees are commuting, from what neighboring towns, their monthly earnings, and industries they are employed within. This information helps communities continue to improve their local towns or cities, and helps businesses look at their labor sheds and be informed about their employees’ commutes. There is a lot of information one can explore on this user-friendly and interactive tool. Please feel free to contact me if you have any difficulty accessing or using this data from the Census Bureau.