Unemployment in Hidden Valley Lake (11.2%) is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Hidden Valley Lake itself; outside it, Santa Rosa draws the most (10%, 26 miles). For jobs and income Hidden Valley Lake is better than 26% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (C+). Working residents average 42 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 sets Hidden Valley Lake apart on work
Hidden Valley Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Hidden Valley Lake is a place people come home to
There are 423 jobs based in Hidden Valley Lake, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Hidden Valley Lake has about 4,100 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Hidden Valley Lake than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hidden Valley Lake fell from 664 in 2013 to 423 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Hidden Valley Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Hidden Valley Lake is Santa Rosa, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (216) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Hidden Valley Lake
63% of Hidden Valley Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Hidden Valley Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. 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.
Jobs & income in Hidden Valley Lake: the grade in detail
The poverty rate holds Hidden Valley Lake’s grade up (7.8%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hidden Valley Lake could be anywhere from D to B.
The trip to work from Hidden Valley Lake: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hidden Valley Lake workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,749 commuters (the 16% 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 daily commute in and out of Hidden Valley Lake
On a workday 2,017 residents head out to work, 186 work right here, and 237 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Hidden Valley Lake on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.19 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.
Inside Hidden Valley Lake’s 423 jobs
423 jobs are based in Hidden Valley Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hidden Valley Lake, 2013 → 2023: 664 → 423. 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 Hidden Valley Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Hidden Valley Lake, by distance
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.
Where Hidden Valley Lake goes to work
Where Hidden Valley Lake clocks in
10% 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.
Most trips from Hidden Valley Lake start in a car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across California, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,072 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 1.1% of Hidden Valley Lake households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hidden Valley Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Hidden Valley Lake ranks: 2,686th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,684 | Charles City IA | 7,013 | $59K | 13.3% | 4.6% | 46% | C |
| 2,685 | Hanover NY | 6,808 | $72K | 14.2% | 6.5% | 24% | C |
| 2,686 | Hidden Valley Lake CA | 5,872 | $84K | 7.8% | 11.2% | 8% | C |
| 2,687 | Progreso TX | 5,148 | $46K | 28.4% | 4.4% | 2% | C |
| 2,688 | China Grove NC | 4,650 | $54K | 17.2% | 6.0% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | 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 Hidden Valley Lake, 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 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 Hidden Valley Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Hidden Valley Lake?
$84,152 (±$18,686) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hidden Valley Lake?
7.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hidden Valley Lake?
42 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hidden Valley Lake work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Rosa (10%, 26 mi), Middletown (9%, 5 mi), Clearlake (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hidden Valley Lake walkable?
Hidden Valley Lake is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hidden Valley Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hidden Valley Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hidden Valley Lake
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.