East Bakersfield has lower household incomes than 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 3.9 in Bakersfield. 42.6% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. The two grades for East Bakersfield are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from East Bakersfield, in brief
East Bakersfield and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for East Bakersfield residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in East Bakersfield come from (49% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
East Bakersfield is a place people come home to
There are 296 jobs based in East Bakersfield, 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 ↓
Commutes from East Bakersfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How East Bakersfield earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, East Bakersfield is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #769 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds East Bakersfield’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, East Bakersfield could be anywhere from D to C−.
37% of working residents work in Bakersfield
Where East Bakersfield clocks in
37% of workers
2% 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 East Bakersfield
On a workday 2,550 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 261 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,800 people are in East Bakersfield on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.11 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.
How many miles East Bakersfield commutes
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 daily trip from East Bakersfield: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Bakersfield workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,537 commuters (the 5% 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 kinds of work in East Bakersfield
296 jobs are based in East Bakersfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Bakersfield, 2014 → 2024: 168 → 296. 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 East Bakersfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In East Bakersfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, East Bakersfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #367 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.2% 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 3,727 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, 47% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 15.3% of East Bakersfield households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of East Bakersfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
How East Bakersfield compares with U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,330 | Perryville MO | 8,593 | $52K | 19.0% | 6.8% | 41% | D |
| 2,331 | Vernal UT | 10,671 | $64K | 17.9% | 8.7% | 33% | D |
| 2,332 | East Bakersfield CA | 11,062 | $39K | 42.6% | 13.0% | 1% | D |
| 2,333 | Beeville TX | 13,086 | $51K | 22.1% | 5.1% | 29% | D |
| 2,334 | Milan TN | 8,367 | $44K | 21.3% | 6.4% | 24% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 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 East Bakersfield, the top three, the last and three more from California.
37% of East Bakersfield works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Bakersfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Bakersfield | – | D | A− | 24 min | $38,644 |
| Bakersfield | 37% | C+ | B+ | 24 min | $80,540 |
| La Cresta | under 1% | C | A− | 23 min | $49,605 |
| Potomac Park | under 1% | C− | A− | 23 min | $51,166 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bakersfield. Darker towns draw more of East Bakersfield’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 East Bakersfield: questions
What is the median household income in East Bakersfield?
$38,644 (±$10,849) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Bakersfield?
42.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Bakersfield?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Bakersfield work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (37%, 4 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 100 mi), Oildale (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is East Bakersfield walkable?
East Bakersfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Bakersfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 47% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from East Bakersfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Bakersfield
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.