Household incomes in Cottonwood are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 7% of workers (California 17%). 46.5% of residents live below the poverty line (California 12.0%). Cottonwood grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Cottonwood in brief
Cottonwood and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for Cottonwood residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Cottonwood come from (48% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Cottonwood is a place people come home to
There are 97 jobs based in Cottonwood, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 832 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Cottonwood’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Cottonwood is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #718 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Cottonwood’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (16.0%) is left out: Cottonwood’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Cottonwood stays C−.
39% of working residents work in Bakersfield
Where Cottonwood clocks in
39% 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 daily commute in and out of Cottonwood
On a workday 828 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 93 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Cottonwood on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.12 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 2024, primary jobs.
The distance from Cottonwood to work
About 36% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The 97 jobs based in Cottonwood
97 jobs are based in Cottonwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cottonwood, 2014 → 2024: 104 → 97. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cottonwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Cottonwood’s commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cottonwood workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 640 commuters (the 7% 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.
Cottonwood is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cottonwood is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #567 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 691 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 59% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 13.3% of Cottonwood households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Cottonwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cottonwood is 3,662nd of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Ross CA | 2,304 | $250K | 4.8% | 0.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,660 | Spencer NY | 2,857 | $63K | 14.4% | 5.3% | 9% | C− |
| 3,661 | Harrison Township OH | 4,151 | $52K | 23.4% | 3.2% | 3% | C− |
| 3,662 | Cottonwood CA | 3,107 | $44K | 46.5% | 16.0% | <1% | C− |
| 3,663 | Port Hadlock-Irondale WA | 3,884 | $84K | 14.8% | 6.8% | 9% | C− |
| 3,664 | Madison IL | 3,063 | $49K | 26.4% | 16.0% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Cottonwood, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Cottonwood and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Casa Loma (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cottonwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood | – | C− | B+ | 22 min | $44,247 |
| Casa Loma | 1% | C− | B− | 26 min | $43,403 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cottonwood’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 2024, 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 Cottonwood: questions
What is the median household income in Cottonwood?
$44,247 (±$6,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cottonwood?
46.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cottonwood?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cottonwood work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (39%, 3 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 97 mi), East Niles (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Cottonwood walkable?
Cottonwood is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cottonwood without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cottonwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cottonwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.