Households in Kettleman City earn less than those in 90% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Kettleman City is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (D). The poverty rate is 31.1% (California 12.0%). 7% of workers have no commute at all; California has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Kettleman City
Kettleman City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Kettleman City is Fresno, 54 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (23) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Kettleman City is a place people come home to
There are 74 jobs based in Kettleman City, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
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; with 284 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Kettleman City gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Kettleman City is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Kettleman City’s grade.
Unemployment (10.9%) is left out: Kettleman City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Kettleman City could be anywhere from D− to D.
Near or far: the trip to work from Kettleman City
About 41% 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.
Kettleman City by day and by night
On a workday 283 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 73 people come in from elsewhere.
About 790 people are in Kettleman City on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
8% of working residents work in Fresno
Where Kettleman City clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Kettleman City: what the 74 are
74 jobs are based in Kettleman City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kettleman City, 2013 → 2023: 110 → 74. 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 Kettleman City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Kettleman City spends getting to work: 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 Kettleman City workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 392 commuters (the 7% 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.
Few in Kettleman City walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 422 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 0.0% of Kettleman City households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kettleman City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kettleman City and other U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 13 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,063 | Gretna FL | 1,296 | $36K | 33.5% | 3.7% | 1% | D− |
| 3,064 | Logan WV | 1,312 | $30K | 44.5% | 24.1% | 13% | D− |
| 3,065 | Kettleman City CA | 1,002 | $48K | 31.1% | 10.9% | <1% | D− |
| 3,066 | Georgiana AL | 1,274 | $24K | 24.1% | 9.0% | 6% | D− |
| 3,067 | Maricopa CA | 1,018 | $39K | 22.4% | 13.0% | 9% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Kettleman City, 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 Kettleman City: questions
What is the median household income in Kettleman City?
$47,743 (±$19,480) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kettleman City?
31.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kettleman City?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kettleman City work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fresno (8%, 54 mi), Hanford (7%, 28 mi), Lemoore (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kettleman City walkable?
Kettleman City is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kettleman City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kettleman City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kettleman City
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.