With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Ashland works elsewhere
There are 3,229 jobs in Ashland, and 10,027 of its residents work somewhere. Only 3% work in Ashland itself; outside it, Oakland draws the most (14%, 8 miles). 7% of workers have no commute at all, against 17% across California.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ashland apart
Ashland has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ashland went from 2,123 in 2013 to 3,229 in 2023, +52%. The jobs ↓
Ashland empties out on a workday
About 15,000 people are in Ashland on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 22,000 who live here: 9,700 head out to work and 2,900 come in. Day and night ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Ashland
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ashland is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #512 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Ashland’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ashland could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The kinds of work in Ashland
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashland, 2013 → 2023: 2,123 → 3,229. 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 Ashland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Ashland
On a workday 9,743 residents head out to work, 284 work right here, and 2,945 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Ashland on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Ashland: the destinations
Where Ashland clocks in
14% of workers
8% 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.
Commuting from Ashland: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashland workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,250 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far Ashland goes to work
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.
Ashland is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,014 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 17.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.2% of Ashland households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Ashland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ashland is 1,128th of 1,658 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | La Cañada Flintridge CA | 19,480 | $242K | 3.5% | 5.0% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,126 | Watertown WI | 22,704 | $70K | 9.9% | 5.3% | 26% | B− |
| 1,127 | Mason City IA | 26,853 | $65K | 12.0% | 2.8% | 56% | B− |
| 1,128 | Ashland CA | 22,210 | $82K | 16.4% | 6.7% | 3% | B− |
| 1,129 | New Port Richey FL | 18,299 | $48K | 10.5% | 3.0% | 6% | B− |
| 1,130 | Pearl MS | 28,864 | $62K | 12.2% | 4.3% | 14% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ashland, the top three, the last and three more from California.
How Ashland compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ashland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | – | B− | A+ | 33 min | $81,702 |
| Cherryland | under 2% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $86,418 |
| San Leandro | 7% | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $101,420 |
| Castro Valley | under 2% | A | A | 33 min | $142,779 |
| San Lorenzo | under 2% | A | A | 31 min | $112,660 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Leandro. Darker towns draw more of Ashland’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 Ashland: questions
What is the median household income in Ashland?
$81,702 (±$6,130) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashland?
16.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashland?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashland work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oakland (14%, 8 mi), San Francisco (10%, 18 mi), Hayward (8%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ashland walkable?
Ashland is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ashland without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashland
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.