Photo: Robert Campbell · CC BY-SA 3.0At 10.3%, unemployment in Eureka is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. The two grades for Eureka are C− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Eureka apart on work
Commutes from Eureka are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Eureka is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Eureka (Bayview, Indianola, Cutten, Pine Hills and Myrtletown) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Eureka has 1.8 per resident. Next door ↓
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.
Eureka’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Eureka is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #757 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Eureka’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Eureka could be anywhere from D to C−.
The trip to work from Eureka: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eureka workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,965 commuters (the 12% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Eureka
On a workday 4,965 residents head out to work, 4,775 work right here, and 12,908 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33,000 people are in Eureka on a workday afternoon, 31% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Eureka: where workers come from
Where Eureka clocks in
13% 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 17,683 jobs based in Eureka
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eureka, 2013 → 2023: 15,945 → 17,683. 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 Eureka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Eureka to work
About 17% 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.
Eureka is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Eureka is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #49 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Eureka 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 11,262 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, 74% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 11.7% of Eureka households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Eureka’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Eureka compares with U.S. towns of 18,000 to 34,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,451 | Lebanon PA | 26,479 | $48K | 22.9% | 10.1% | 12% | C− |
| 1,452 | San Benito TX | 24,980 | $44K | 29.7% | 7.3% | 14% | C− |
| 1,453 | Eureka CA | 25,304 | $58K | 18.1% | 10.3% | 49% | C− |
| 1,454 | Kankakee IL | 23,400 | $48K | 25.5% | 7.6% | 24% | D |
| 1,455 | Elizabeth City NC | 19,622 | $52K | 13.3% | 7.0% | 35% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,516 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Eureka, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work in the towns next to Eureka
The biggest share goes to Myrtletown (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eureka workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | – | C− | A+ | 16 min | $57,662 |
| Bayview | under 1% | D | B+ | 16 min | $48,406 |
| Indianola | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Cutten | 2% | B+ | A− | 15 min | $97,225 |
| Pine Hills | under 1% | B− | C | 19 min | $78,393 |
| Myrtletown | 3% | C− | B+ | 13 min | $60,457 |
Same-state neighbors only. Indianola: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eureka’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 Eureka: questions
What is the median household income in Eureka?
$57,662 (±$6,115) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eureka?
18.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eureka?
16 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eureka work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Arcata (13%, 6 mi), Myrtletown (3%, 1 mi), McKinleyville (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eureka walkable?
Eureka is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eureka without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 74% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eureka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eureka
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.