Photo: Dorothea Lange · Public domainAirport at work: jobs, income and the commute
Employers in Airport report 307 jobs, and 464 of its residents work somewhere. 4% of workers have no commute at all (California 17%). Working residents average 34 minutes each way, where California has 29 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Airport
Airport and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for Airport residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Airport come from (28% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
43% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
The jobs in Airport pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in Airport pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 55% of the jobs Airport residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Airport. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 464 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
16% of working residents work in Modesto
Where Airport clocks in
16% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Miles to work from Airport
About 43% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
78% of the jobs in Airport pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Airport, 2013 → 2023: 68 → 307. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Airport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Airport
On a workday 457 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 300 people come in from elsewhere.
About 750 people are in Airport on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.66 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Airport: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Airport workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 323 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Next door is work for 16% of Airport
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Modesto. Darker towns draw more of Airport’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Airport: questions
What is the median household income in Airport?
$32,159 (±$31,581) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Airport?
41.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Airport?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Airport work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (16%, 2 mi), Fremont (5%, 54 mi), Turlock (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Airport without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Airport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Airport
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.