Photo: The Oaked Ridge · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Folsom have higher incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.8 in Sacramento. 5.3% of residents live below the poverty line (California 12.0%). The two grades for Folsom are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Folsom
Income, poverty and work: Folsom’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Folsom is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #201 of 847 in California. Household income holds Folsom’s grade up ($139,804, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Folsom could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
The daily trip from Folsom: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Folsom workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26,604 commuters (the 31% 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.
How many people are in Folsom by day
On a workday 27,529 residents head out to work, 7,270 work right here, and 36,607 people come in from elsewhere.
About 101,000 people are in Folsom on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Sacramento
Where Folsom clocks in
17% of workers
6% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
43,877 jobs are based in Folsom.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Folsom, 2013 → 2023: 34,330 → 43,877. 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 Folsom’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Folsom commutes less than 15 miles
About 23% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Folsom
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Folsom is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #268 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.6% 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 38,581 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 3.5% of Folsom households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Folsom’s commuters take a bus or train.
155th of 495: where Folsom ranks among U.S. towns of 64,000 to 124,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 153 | Farmington Hills MI | 83,291 | $105K | 7.6% | 5.2% | 11% | A− |
| 154 | Bellevue NE | 64,863 | $85K | 7.8% | 3.2% | 13% | A− |
| 155 | Folsom CA | 91,983 | $140K | 5.3% | 6.3% | 21% | A− |
| 156 | Warren Township IL | 65,343 | $104K | 6.2% | 5.7% | 12% | A− |
| 157 | Algonquin Township IL | 89,435 | $110K | 6.0% | 5.5% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 495 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Folsom, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Folsom
The biggest share goes to El Dorado Hills (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Folsom workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folsom | – | A− | A | 27 min | $139,804 |
| Orangevale | under 2% | B+ | B | 28 min | $99,832 |
| Fair Oaks | under 2% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $116,975 |
| El Dorado Hills | 3% | A | B | 32 min | $165,349 |
| Granite Bay | under 2% | A | B+ | 25 min | $184,606 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Folsom’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 Folsom: questions
What is the median household income in Folsom?
$139,804 (±$10,654) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Folsom?
5.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Folsom?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Folsom work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sacramento (17%, 19 mi), Rancho Cordova (7%, 8 mi), Roseville (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Folsom walkable?
Folsom is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Folsom without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Folsom, from the people who make the trip.
More of Folsom
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.