Photo: Bishopvisitor · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Bishop (0.3%) is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Bishop grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. About two in five work in Bishop; the top destination outside it is Mammoth Lakes (7%, 37 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Bishop: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Bishop are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Bishop is where the jobs are
Bishop has 3,363 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,300 people are in town, 44% more than the 3,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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.
Why Bishop gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bishop is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #419 of 847 in California. Unemployment holds Bishop’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 13% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bishop could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Getting to work from Bishop takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bishop workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,930 commuters (the 12% 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.
A workday in Bishop: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 990 residents head out to work, 746 work right here, and 2,617 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Bishop on a workday afternoon, 44% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Half of Bishop commutes less than 2 miles
About 31% 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.
Where the people who work in Bishop live
Where Bishop clocks in
7% 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.
Jobs in Bishop: what the 3,363 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bishop, 2013 → 2023: 3,376 → 3,363. 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 Bishop’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Bishop
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bishop is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #88 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Bishop near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,205 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 40% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 5.2% of Bishop households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bishop’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Bishop is 1,799th of 4,318 U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 128 | Emerald Lake Hills CA | 4,235 | $250K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,797 | Onondaga Township MI | 3,086 | $91K | 2.5% | 10.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,798 | Mount Pleasant Township PA | 4,797 | $91K | 9.9% | 4.2% | 2% | B |
| 1,799 | Bishop CA | 3,696 | $84K | 9.9% | 0.3% | 43% | B |
| 1,800 | Mount Pleasant PA | 4,108 | $52K | 11.1% | 1.3% | 8% | B |
| 1,801 | Elyria Township OH | 3,220 | $62K | 4.6% | 5.8% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Bishop, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Bishop
The biggest share goes to West Bishop (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bishop workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop | – | B | A+ | 16 min | $83,686 |
| West Bishop | 2% | B+ | C | 17 min | $114,653 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bishop’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 Bishop: questions
What is the median household income in Bishop?
$83,686 (±$13,471) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bishop?
9.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bishop?
16 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bishop work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mammoth Lakes (7%, 37 mi), Fresno (3%, 87 mi), Independence (2%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bishop walkable?
Bishop is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bishop without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bishop, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bishop
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.