Most of McKinleyville commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
The two grades for McKinleyville are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Employers in McKinleyville report 2,440 jobs, against 6,166 working residents. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
McKinleyville at work: what stands out
Where McKinleyville’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McKinleyville is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #696 of 847 in California. Household income holds McKinleyville’s grade up ($73,327, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.9%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McKinleyville could be anywhere from D to B−.
From McKinleyville, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McKinleyville workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,407 commuters (the 10% 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.
McKinleyville quiets down on a workday
On a workday 5,207 residents head out to work, 959 work right here, and 1,481 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in McKinleyville on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
25% of working residents work in Eureka
Where McKinleyville clocks in
25% of workers
24% 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.
What McKinleyville’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McKinleyville, 2014 → 2024: 2,085 → 2,440. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs McKinleyville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from McKinleyville
About 15% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
McKinleyville is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McKinleyville is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #394 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 7,114 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 70% 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 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 0.9% of McKinleyville households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of McKinleyville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How McKinleyville ranks: 1,724th of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Coto de Caza CA | 15,190 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,722 | Warrington FL | 15,918 | $62K | 22.5% | 6.3% | 3% | C− |
| 1,723 | Coolbaugh Township PA | 20,681 | $83K | 16.2% | 11.6% | 7% | C− |
| 1,724 | McKinleyville CA | 17,113 | $73K | 14.2% | 7.9% | 16% | C− |
| 1,725 | Lebanon OR | 20,267 | $63K | 17.8% | 5.8% | 18% | C− |
| 1,726 | Palmview TX | 15,878 | $44K | 30.8% | 5.1% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 McKinleyville, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bordering towns draw 24% of McKinleyville’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | McKinleyville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinleyville | – | C− | A− | 21 min | $73,327 |
| Fieldbrook | under 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Westhaven-Moonstone | under 1% | C− | C | 25 min | $66,815 |
| Arcata | 24% | C | A+ | 18 min | $46,713 |
Same-state neighbors only. Fieldbrook: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Arcata. Darker towns draw more of McKinleyville’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 2024, 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 McKinleyville: questions
What is the median household income in McKinleyville?
$73,327 (±$7,026) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McKinleyville?
14.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McKinleyville?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McKinleyville work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eureka (25%, 11 mi), Arcata (24%, 6 mi), Myrtletown (2%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is McKinleyville walkable?
McKinleyville is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McKinleyville without a car?
<1% 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 McKinleyville, from the people who make the trip.
More of McKinleyville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.