At 10.9%, unemployment in Bret Harte is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
At home: 1% of workers have no commute at all (California 17%). The two grades for Bret Harte are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Bret Harte is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Bret Harte
Bret Harte is a place people come home to
There are 153 jobs based in Bret Harte, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Bret Harte has about 3,400 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Few Bret Harte workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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.
What’s behind Bret Harte’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bret Harte is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #758 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Bret Harte’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (42.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bret Harte could be anywhere from D to C+.
Who leaves Bret Harte for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,441 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 126 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Bret Harte on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.10 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.
About 31 minutes each way for Bret Harte’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bret Harte workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,594 commuters (the 1% 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.
Miles to work from Bret Harte
About 34% 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.
17% of working residents work in Modesto
Where Bret Harte clocks in
17% of workers
6% 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.
33% of the jobs in Bret Harte make or build things
153 jobs are based in Bret Harte.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bret Harte, 2013 → 2023: 97 → 153. 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 Bret Harte’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bret Harte is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bret Harte is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #577 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 1,607 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, 97% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 0.0% of Bret Harte households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bret Harte’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Bret Harte ranks: 3,365th of 3,867 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,363 | Beaver Dam KY | 3,537 | $54K | 11.2% | 12.5% | 9% | D |
| 3,364 | Greene Township PA | 3,626 | $64K | 17.0% | 7.0% | 8% | D |
| 3,365 | Bret Harte CA | 4,757 | $53K | 42.5% | 10.9% | 2% | D |
| 3,366 | North Braddock PA | 4,107 | $35K | 28.8% | 16.3% | 2% | D |
| 3,367 | Carrollton Township MI | 5,585 | $50K | 34.5% | 8.4% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,867 | 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 Bret Harte, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Bret Harte: questions
What is the median household income in Bret Harte?
$52,500 (±$26,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bret Harte?
42.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bret Harte?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bret Harte work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (17%, 2 mi), Ceres (6%, 2 mi), Stockton (4%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bret Harte walkable?
Bret Harte is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bret Harte without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 97% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bret Harte, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bret Harte
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.