Photo: LTSIERRA at English Wikipedia · Public domainOakdale has higher unemployment (10.2%) than 95% of U.S. towns
For 9% of workers, the job is at home (California 17%). Jobs and income earn Oakdale C; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in seven work in Oakdale; the top destination outside it is Modesto (15%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oakdale and work: the main findings
Oakdale and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for Oakdale residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Oakdale come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Oakdale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% 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.
Oakdale’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oakdale is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #621 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Oakdale’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oakdale could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Commuting out of Oakdale: the destinations
Where Oakdale clocks in
15% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Oakdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakdale workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,242 commuters (the 9% 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 Oakdale goes to work
About 30% 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.
Oakdale by day and by night
On a workday 8,142 residents head out to work, 1,586 work right here, and 4,919 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Oakdale on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
33% of the jobs in Oakdale make or build things
6,505 jobs are based in Oakdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakdale, 2013 → 2023: 5,327 → 6,505. 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 Oakdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Oakdale is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oakdale is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #576 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 10,119 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 7.1% of Oakdale households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Oakdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,369th of 1,712: where Oakdale ranks among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 149 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,367 | Bethel Township OH | 17,987 | $67K | 14.1% | 7.6% | 9% | C |
| 1,368 | Maywood CA | 23,600 | $61K | 19.4% | 7.8% | 3% | C |
| 1,369 | Oakdale CA | 23,246 | $83K | 14.8% | 10.2% | 16% | C |
| 1,370 | Marshalltown IA | 27,536 | $69K | 14.3% | 5.3% | 47% | C |
| 1,371 | Springfield TN | 20,090 | $59K | 22.4% | 4.7% | 25% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Oakdale, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door to Oakdale
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale | – | C | B+ | 35 min | $83,091 |
| East Oakdale | under 2% | B | D− | 32 min | $119,844 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oakdale’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 Oakdale: questions
What is the median household income in Oakdale?
$83,091 (±$13,252) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakdale?
14.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakdale?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakdale work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (15%, 12 mi), Stockton (5%, 29 mi), San Jose (2%, 62 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakdale walkable?
Oakdale is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakdale without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakdale
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.