At 23.7%, unemployment in Bystrom is among the highest of any U.S. town
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.6 in Modesto. Jobs and income earn Bystrom D; getting around on foot earns it A−. Measured by household income, Bystrom is behind 89% 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 Bystrom
Bystrom and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for Bystrom residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Bystrom come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Bystrom workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Bystrom is a place people come home to
There are 293 jobs based in Bystrom, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
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 ↓
A young workforce
30% of Bystrom’s working residents are 29 or younger. 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.
Inside Bystrom’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bystrom is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #764 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Bystrom’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bystrom could be anywhere from D to C.
21% of working residents work in Modesto
Where Bystrom clocks in
21% 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.
Time on the road from Bystrom: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bystrom workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,017 commuters (the 3% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Bystrom
On a workday 1,241 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 284 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Bystrom on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.23 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 Bystrom to work
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.
What the 293 jobs in Bystrom are
293 jobs are based in Bystrom.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bystrom, 2013 → 2023: 282 → 293. 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 Bystrom’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Bystrom
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bystrom is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #375 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 1,050 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, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 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). 6.5% of Bystrom households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Bystrom’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,112 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600, Bystrom comes 3,612th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,610 | Union Township MO | 3,242 | $51K | 20.0% | 4.1% | 14% | D |
| 3,611 | Warsaw NY | 5,218 | $57K | 20.0% | 5.5% | 30% | D |
| 3,612 | Bystrom CA | 4,143 | $49K | 33.5% | 23.7% | 1% | D |
| 3,613 | Lonoke AR | 4,299 | $48K | 18.2% | 15.8% | 16% | D |
| 3,614 | Oxford NY | 3,562 | $61K | 18.5% | 5.3% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | 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 Bystrom, the top three, the last and three more from California.
27% of Bystrom works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Modesto (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Bystrom’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 Bystrom: questions
What is the median household income in Bystrom?
$49,094 (±$21,055) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bystrom?
33.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bystrom?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bystrom work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (21%, 2 mi), Ceres (6%, 2 mi), Turlock (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bystrom walkable?
Bystrom is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bystrom without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bystrom, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bystrom
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.