Photo: Father of Nehrams2020 · CC BY-SA 3.0At 12.3%, unemployment in Atwater is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Atwater itself; outside it, Merced draws the most (17%, 7 miles). The two grades for Atwater are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where California as a whole has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Atwater: the figures worth knowing
Atwater and Merced trade workers both ways
Merced is the top workplace for Atwater residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Atwater come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Atwater workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Atwater has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Atwater went from 4,318 in 2013 to 6,475 in 2023, +50%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Atwater
59% of Atwater residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Atwater pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 ↓
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.
Inside Atwater’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Atwater is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #728 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Atwater’s grade up (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Atwater could be anywhere from D to C−.
Where the trip to work from Atwater ends
Where Atwater clocks in
17% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Atwater
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Atwater workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,093 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.
Atwater makes things: 35% of its jobs are in goods
6,475 jobs are based in Atwater.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Atwater, 2013 → 2023: 4,318 → 6,475. 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 Atwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Atwater
About 35% 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.
Who leaves Atwater for work, and who comes in
On a workday 10,878 residents head out to work, 1,306 work right here, and 5,169 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Atwater on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.53 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.
Most trips from Atwater start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Atwater is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #518 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,626 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 89% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 6.3% of Atwater households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Atwater’s commuters take a bus or train.
Atwater and other U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,279 | Alexandria LA | 42,938 | $47K | 27.0% | 5.2% | 51% | C− |
| 1,280 | Reedley CA | 26,982 | $63K | 22.3% | 13.4% | 20% | C− |
| 1,281 | Atwater CA | 32,133 | $64K | 21.0% | 12.3% | 11% | C− |
| 1,282 | Alton TX | 24,138 | $53K | 27.5% | 8.3% | 2% | C− |
| 1,283 | Big Spring TX | 22,290 | $68K | 17.1% | 6.6% | 31% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,368 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Atwater, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Atwater and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Winton (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Atwater’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 Atwater: questions
What is the median household income in Atwater?
$64,472 (±$5,226) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Atwater?
21.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Atwater?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Atwater work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merced (17%, 7 mi), Turlock (5%, 18 mi), Modesto (5%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Atwater walkable?
Atwater is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Atwater without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Atwater, from the people who make the trip.
More of Atwater
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.