Photo: Gomez1209 · CC BY-SA 3.0At 5.8%, unemployment in Escalon is higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
10% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. The two grades for Escalon are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 3.9 in Stockton.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Escalon: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Escalon 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Escalon’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Escalon is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #461 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Escalon’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Escalon could be anywhere from C to A.
From Escalon, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Escalon workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,648 commuters (the 10% 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 distance from Escalon to work
About 30% 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.
Escalon quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,893 residents head out to work, 334 work right here, and 1,634 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Escalon on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
11% of working residents work in Stockton
Where Escalon clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
5% 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.
Making and building: 32% of jobs based in Escalon
1,968 jobs are based in Escalon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Escalon, 2013 → 2023: 1,547 → 1,968. 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 Escalon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Escalon is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Escalon is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #250 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.8% 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 2,929 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% 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 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 4.0% of Escalon households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Escalon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Escalon is 1,621st among 3,083 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,619 | Granite Shoals TX | 5,498 | $78K | 2.4% | 4.3% | 3% | B− |
| 1,620 | Antis Township PA | 6,340 | $72K | 11.1% | 2.8% | 10% | B− |
| 1,621 | Escalon CA | 7,394 | $81K | 8.8% | 5.8% | 10% | B− |
| 1,622 | Eaton Rapids MI | 5,218 | $64K | 13.5% | 1.6% | 12% | B− |
| 1,623 | Jefferson Township OH | 5,246 | $57K | 7.2% | 2.0% | 19% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Escalon, 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 Escalon: questions
What is the median household income in Escalon?
$81,467 (±$15,054) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Escalon?
8.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Escalon?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Escalon work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stockton (11%, 21 mi), Modesto (10%, 11 mi), Manteca (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Escalon walkable?
Escalon is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Escalon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Escalon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Escalon
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.