Empire has higher unemployment (13.0%) than 98% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Empire C−; getting around on foot earns it C−. Measured by household income, Empire is behind 84% of U.S. towns. 0% of workers have no commute at all; California has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Empire
Few Empire workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Empire and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for Empire residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Empire come from (36% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Empire has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Empire went from 415 in 2013 to 663 in 2023, +60%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% 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 Empire are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 46 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Empire’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Empire is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #744 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Empire’s grade up (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Empire could be anywhere from D to B−.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Empire workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,281 commuters (the 0% 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.
18% of working residents work in Modesto
Where Empire clocks in
18% of workers
4% 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.
What the 663 jobs in Empire are
663 jobs are based in Empire.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Empire, 2013 → 2023: 415 → 663. 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 Empire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Empire works
About 40% 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 daily flow of workers through Empire
On a workday 1,292 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 654 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Empire on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.51 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.
In Empire, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Empire is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #813 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,281 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 25% 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 1.4% of Empire households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Empire’s commuters take a bus or train.
Empire places 3,721st of 4,402 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,719 | Washington Township IN | 3,380 | $49K | 10.9% | 8.6% | 6% | C− |
| 3,720 | Chautauqua NY | 3,995 | $69K | 18.3% | 6.4% | 26% | C− |
| 3,721 | Empire CA | 3,429 | $53K | 22.3% | 13.0% | 1% | C− |
| 3,722 | North Shore CA | 3,515 | $52K | 7.6% | 11.3% | 3% | C− |
| 3,723 | Montezuma GA | 2,879 | $47K | 18.3% | 3.8% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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 Empire, the top three, the last and three more from California.
18% of Empire works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Modesto. Darker towns draw more of Empire’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 Empire: questions
What is the median household income in Empire?
$52,563 (±$22,679) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Empire?
22.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Empire?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Empire work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (18%, 5 mi), Ceres (4%, 4 mi), Stockton (4%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Empire walkable?
Empire is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Empire 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 Empire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Empire
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.