Households in Ford City have lower incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
36.6% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. The two grades for Ford City are D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers (California 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Ford City apart on work
Ford City is a place people come home to
There are 121 jobs based in Ford City, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Ford City and Taft trade workers both ways
Taft is the top workplace for Ford City residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Ford City come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Ford City 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Ford City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Ford City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ford City is better than 2% of U.S. towns, #837 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Ford City’s grade up (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (18.7%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ford City could be anywhere from D− to C−.
A workday in Ford City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,071 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 85 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Ford City on a workday afternoon, 24% 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.
19% of working residents work in Taft
Where Ford City clocks in
19% of workers
15% 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.
How long Ford City spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ford City workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,568 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ford City
About 41% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Ford City
121 jobs are based in Ford City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ford City, 2014 → 2024: 115 → 121. 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 Ford City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Ford City gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ford City is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #694 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% 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 1,568 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 14.5% of Ford City households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ford City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Ford City sits among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,060 | Yuma CO | 3,424 | $48K | 31.5% | 8.9% | 37% | D− |
| 4,061 | Carrizo Springs TX | 4,491 | $39K | 37.3% | 10.4% | 37% | D− |
| 4,062 | Ford City CA | 4,162 | $47K | 36.6% | 18.7% | 3% | D− |
| 4,063 | Willcox AZ | 3,189 | $44K | 19.3% | 13.0% | 27% | D− |
| 4,064 | Walsenburg CO | 3,039 | $51K | 25.2% | 11.5% | 28% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 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 Ford City, 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 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 Ford City: questions
What is the median household income in Ford City?
$47,214 (±$8,384) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ford City?
36.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ford City?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ford City work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Taft (19%, 3 mi), Bakersfield (15%, 27 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 99 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Ford City walkable?
Ford City is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ford City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ford City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ford City
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.