Buhach Grammar School · Photo: Saeidb · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in McSwain are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
At home: 6% of workers have no commute at all (California 17%). 17.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. The two grades for McSwain are B for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in McSwain, in a few figures
Jobs in McSwain have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in McSwain went from 352 in 2013 to 713 in 2023, +103%. The jobs ↓
McSwain makes and builds things
53% of the jobs based in McSwain are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs McSwain residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
McSwain and Merced trade workers both ways
Merced is the top workplace for McSwain residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in McSwain come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from McSwain 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in McSwain
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McSwain is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #366 of 847 in California. Household income holds McSwain’s grade up ($139,131, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McSwain could be anywhere from B− to A.
Goods, not services: 53% of the jobs in McSwain
713 jobs are based in McSwain.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McSwain, 2013 → 2023: 352 → 713. 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 McSwain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
20% of working residents work in Merced
Where McSwain clocks in
20% of workers
11% 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.
From McSwain, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McSwain workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,428 commuters (the 5% 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 workday shuffle in and out of McSwain
On a workday 2,054 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 678 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in McSwain on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
How far McSwain’s workers travel
About 31% 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.
Few in McSwain walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McSwain is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #758 of 847 in California. Both inputs place McSwain 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 2,569 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 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 14.3% of McSwain households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of McSwain’s commuters take a bus or train.
McSwain places 1,420th of 3,527 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,418 | Manchester Township MI | 4,550 | $85K | 8.7% | 2.8% | 8% | B |
| 1,419 | Harris Township PA | 5,882 | $103K | 9.6% | 3.8% | 5% | B |
| 1,420 | McSwain CA | 5,783 | $139K | 17.1% | 3.2% | 2% | B |
| 1,421 | Potomac Mills VA | 5,741 | $105K | 15.2% | 4.8% | 4% | B |
| 1,422 | Rainsville AL | 6,020 | $74K | 7.0% | 1.0% | 16% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,527 | 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 McSwain, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 11% of McSwain’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Atwater. Darker towns draw more of McSwain’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 McSwain: questions
What is the median household income in McSwain?
$139,131 (±$23,045) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McSwain?
17.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McSwain?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McSwain work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merced (20%, 6 mi), Atwater (11%, 2 mi), Modesto (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McSwain walkable?
McSwain is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McSwain without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McSwain, from the people who make the trip.
More of McSwain
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.