Households in Gold River earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.8 in Sacramento. 2.9% of residents are in poverty (California 12.0%). Jobs and income earn Gold River A+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Gold River
A lot of Gold River works from home
36% of Gold River workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Gold River is where the jobs are
Gold River has 5,404 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Gold River and Sacramento trade workers both ways
Sacramento is the top workplace for Gold River residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Gold River come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Gold River 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 ↓
Most jobs in Gold River pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Gold River pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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.
Inside Gold River’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gold River is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($175,120, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gold River could be anywhere from A to A+.
The trip to work from Gold River: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gold River workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,422 commuters (the 36% 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.
A workday in Gold River: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,132 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 5,265 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Gold River on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 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.
The daily trip into Gold River
Where Gold River clocks in
24% 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.
Making and building: 28% of jobs based in Gold River
5,404 jobs are based in Gold River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gold River, 2013 → 2023: 6,300 → 5,404. 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 Gold River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Gold River
About 24% 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.
Gold River is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gold River is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #315 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Gold River 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 3,771 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 4.5% of Gold River households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Gold River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700, Gold River ranks 71st of 3,069 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| 70 | Oakwood OH | 9,441 | $157K | 2.7% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 71 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| 72 | Union KY | 7,937 | $137K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 73 | Parkville MO | 9,093 | $171K | 2.0% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | 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 Gold River, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door to Gold River
The biggest share goes to Rancho Cordova (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gold River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold River | – | A+ | A | 23 min | $175,120 |
| Fair Oaks | under 2% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $116,975 |
| Rancho Cordova | 9% | B− | A | 27 min | $89,585 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gold River’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 Gold River: questions
What is the median household income in Gold River?
$175,120 (±$22,807) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gold River?
2.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gold River?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gold River work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sacramento (24%, 12 mi), Rancho Cordova (9%, 4 mi), Folsom (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gold River walkable?
Gold River is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gold River without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gold River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gold River
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.