More people are out of work in Happy Valley (11.3%) than in 96% of U.S. towns
Happy Valley grades C for jobs and income and D for walkability. Home is the office for 4% of workers, against 17% across California. Measured by household income, Happy Valley is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Happy Valley: the figures worth knowing
Nearly half of Happy Valley works in Redding
751 working residents, 48%, have their main job in Redding, 7.7 miles away across the town line. That’s 8 times as many as work in Happy Valley itself. The commute map ↓
Happy Valley is a place people come home to
There are 288 jobs based in Happy Valley, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Few Happy Valley 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 ↓
Most Happy Valley residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Happy Valley 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 ↓
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.
Why Happy Valley gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Happy Valley is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #629 of 847 in California. Household income holds Happy Valley’s grade up ($92,222, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Happy Valley could be anywhere from C− to A−.
48% of working residents work in Redding
Where Happy Valley clocks in
48% of workers
5% 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.
How a workday changes Happy Valley
On a workday 1,469 residents head out to work, 100 work right here, and 188 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Happy Valley on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.18 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 trip to work from Happy Valley: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Happy Valley workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,084 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 distance from Happy Valley to work
About 20% 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.
What Happy Valley’s employers do
288 jobs are based in Happy Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Happy Valley, 2013 → 2023: 283 → 288. 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 Happy Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of Happy Valley, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Happy Valley is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #825 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Happy Valley 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 2,166 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.1% of Happy Valley households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Happy Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,336 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,000, Happy Valley comes 2,393rd 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,391 | Giddings TX | 5,425 | $73K | 14.4% | 4.6% | 26% | C |
| 2,392 | St. Clair Township OH | 7,520 | $58K | 11.4% | 5.1% | 11% | C |
| 2,393 | Happy Valley CA | 5,944 | $92K | 8.9% | 11.3% | 6% | C |
| 2,394 | Sharon Hill PA | 5,995 | $75K | 27.3% | 16.6% | 3% | C |
| 2,395 | Bessemer City NC | 5,834 | $60K | 16.4% | 5.9% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,336 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Happy Valley, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 48% of Happy Valley
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Happy Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley | – | C | D | 23 min | $92,222 |
| Redding | 48% | C+ | A | 17 min | $70,466 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Redding. Darker towns draw more of Happy Valley’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 Happy Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Happy Valley?
$92,222 (±$21,341) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Happy Valley?
8.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Happy Valley?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Happy Valley work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Redding (48%, 8 mi), Anderson (5%, 7 mi), Chico (2%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Happy Valley walkable?
Happy Valley is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Happy Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Happy Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Happy Valley
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.