Greenfield has higher unemployment (12.2%) than 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Greenfield C+; getting around on foot earns it B. 4% of workers work from home; California has 17%. Working residents average 26 minutes each way, where California has 29 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Greenfield
Greenfield and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for Greenfield residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Greenfield come from (61% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Greenfield workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Greenfield’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greenfield is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #599 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Greenfield’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greenfield could be anywhere from C− to A−.
39% of working residents work in Bakersfield
Where Greenfield clocks in
39% of workers
2% 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.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Greenfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenfield workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,334 commuters (the 4% 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 Greenfield
On a workday 1,259 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 384 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Greenfield on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.32 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.
The kinds of work in Greenfield
407 jobs are based in Greenfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenfield, 2013 → 2023: 534 → 407. 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 Greenfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Greenfield goes to work
About 27% 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.
Most of Greenfield commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenfield is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #621 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 1,392 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, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 5.9% of Greenfield households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Greenfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,084 U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,300, Greenfield comes 2,639th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 127 | Emerald Lake Hills CA | 4,235 | $250K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,637 | Milford IA | 3,209 | $63K | 8.9% | 4.2% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,638 | Stockholm NY | 3,857 | $77K | 12.8% | 3.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,639 | Greenfield CA | 3,939 | $74K | 12.1% | 12.2% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,640 | Hancock MI | 4,596 | $60K | 19.1% | 1.8% | 27% | C+ |
| 2,641 | Cadiz OH | 2,960 | $44K | 12.1% | 1.4% | 24% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,084 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Greenfield, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 39% of Greenfield
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greenfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | – | C+ | B | 26 min | $74,185 |
| Bakersfield | 39% | C+ | B+ | 24 min | $80,540 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bakersfield. Darker towns draw more of Greenfield’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 Greenfield: questions
What is the median household income in Greenfield?
$74,185 (±$20,376) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenfield?
12.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenfield?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenfield work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (39%, 6 mi), Los Angeles (3%, 93 mi), Shafter (2%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greenfield walkable?
Greenfield is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greenfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenfield
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.