Household incomes in Dogtown are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
5.3% of residents live below the poverty line; California has 12.0%. For jobs and income Dogtown is better than 81% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−). Only 4% work in Dogtown itself; outside it, Lodi draws the most (12%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Dogtown in brief
Dogtown makes and builds things
71% of the jobs based in Dogtown are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Dogtown residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
Dogtown workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 922 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Dogtown’s grade
Household income is its strongest input ($127,750, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dogtown could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Dogtown makes things: 71% of its jobs are in goods
326 jobs are based in Dogtown.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dogtown, 2013 → 2023: 285 → 326. 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 Dogtown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Dogtown: about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dogtown workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,164 commuters (the 24% 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 commute in and out of Dogtown
On a workday 881 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 285 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Dogtown on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.35 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 towns that employ Dogtown’s residents
Where Dogtown clocks in
12% of workers
12% 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.
Where in the region Dogtown works
About 29% 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.
The commute in Dogtown is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dogtown is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #847 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Dogtown 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 1,530 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.4% of Dogtown households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dogtown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Dogtown is 731st among 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% | 2% | 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% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Ross CA | 2,304 | $250K | 4.8% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Lyndon Township MI | 2,662 | $123K | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3% | A− |
| 730 | Little Compton RI | 3,535 | $135K | 2.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A− |
| 731 | Dogtown CA | 3,094 | $128K | 5.3% | 3.9% | 4% | A− |
| 732 | Croom MD | 2,418 | $188K | 3.1% | 8.5% | 1% | A− |
| 733 | Green Oaks IL | 4,082 | $148K | 6.1% | 6.3% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Dogtown, 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 Dogtown: questions
What is the median household income in Dogtown?
$127,750 (±$48,255) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dogtown?
5.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dogtown?
38 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dogtown work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lodi (12%, 10 mi), Stockton (12%, 18 mi), Sacramento (4%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dogtown walkable?
Dogtown is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dogtown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dogtown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dogtown
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.