More people are out of work in August (10.9%) than in 96% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers; California has 17%. August grades C− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set August apart
August workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 47 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 360 hours of commuting, 138 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
August and Stockton trade workers both ways
Stockton is the top workplace for August residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in August come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
50% of the jobs in August are in trade, transport and utilities, against 27% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in August
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, August is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #730 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds August’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, August could be anywhere from D to C+.
About 47 minutes each way for August’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of August workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,922 commuters (the 6% 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.
28% of working residents work in Stockton
Where August clocks in
28% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
The kinds of work in August
1,242 jobs are based in August.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in August, 2013 → 2023: 1,168 → 1,242. 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 August’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in August, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,883 residents head out to work, 51 work right here, and 1,191 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,100 people are in August on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.42 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.
The distance from August to work
About 25% 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.
Most trips from August start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, August is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #638 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 3,093 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, 54% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 7.2% of August households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of August’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,878 U.S. towns of 6,200 to 11,900, August comes 2,526th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,524 | Taft CA | 6,995 | $73K | 16.9% | 6.1% | 28% | C− |
| 2,525 | Murphysboro Township IL | 9,333 | $53K | 13.9% | 6.7% | 19% | C− |
| 2,526 | August CA | 8,825 | $53K | 26.9% | 10.9% | 2% | C− |
| 2,527 | Golden Hills CA | 9,891 | $96K | 17.6% | 11.6% | 7% | C− |
| 2,528 | Fort Campbell North KY | 11,356 | $59K | 11.7% | 17.4% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 August, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 28% of August’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Stockton. Darker towns draw more of August’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 August: questions
What is the median household income in August?
$53,173 (±$18,156) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in August?
26.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from August?
47 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in August work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stockton (28%, 2 mi), Tracy (4%, 20 mi), Lodi (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is August walkable?
August is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around August without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 54% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from August, from the people who make the trip.
More of August
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.