Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Work and commuting in Jackson
3% of workers have no commute at all, next to 17% for California as a whole. The two grades for Jackson are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Jackson
Jackson trades workers with the towns around it
Jackson has about as many jobs (2,858) as working residents (2,582), but they are mostly different people: 2,290 residents leave for work each day while 2,566 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Jackson are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Jackson’s commute
The biggest draw, Sacramento, gets only 5% of working residents, and 64% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Jackson residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Jackson are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Jackson workers work from home
Only 3% 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
39% 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 ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Jackson’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jackson is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #650 of 847 in California. Unemployment holds Jackson’s grade up (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jackson could be anywhere from D to B+.
How many people are in Jackson by day
On a workday 2,290 residents head out to work, 292 work right here, and 2,566 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
5% of working residents work in Sacramento
Where Jackson clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jackson workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,897 commuters (the 3% 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.
How far Jackson goes to work
About 39% 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.
Jobs in Jackson: what the 2,858 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jackson, 2013 → 2023: 3,184 → 2,858. 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 Jackson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Jackson is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jackson is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #238 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Jackson 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 1,948 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 45% 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 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 11.1% of Jackson households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jackson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Jackson is 2,660th among 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,658 | Moraine OH | 6,627 | $49K | 22.8% | 5.0% | 8% | C |
| 2,659 | Shiloh Township IL | 6,449 | $70K | 14.2% | 6.0% | 32% | C |
| 2,660 | Jackson CA | 5,100 | $70K | 10.9% | 4.3% | 11% | C |
| 2,661 | Florence CO | 3,856 | $50K | 12.2% | 2.2% | 13% | C |
| 2,662 | Troy Township IN | 3,821 | $55K | 12.4% | 3.4% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | 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 Jackson, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Jackson
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jackson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | – | C | A | 20 min | $70,239 |
| Martell | 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Martell: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Martell. Darker towns draw more of Jackson’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 Jackson: questions
What is the median household income in Jackson?
$70,239 (±$18,364) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jackson?
10.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jackson?
20 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jackson work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sacramento (5%, 41 mi), Martell (3%, 2 mi), Sutter Creek (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jackson walkable?
Jackson is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jackson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jackson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jackson
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.