Photo: Public domain · Public domainHouseholds in Patterson have higher incomes than those in 72% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Patterson for work; outside it, Modesto is the main destination (6%, 14 miles). 9.0% of residents are in poverty, against 12.0% across California. Jobs and income earn Patterson B−; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Patterson in brief
Jobs in Patterson have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Patterson went from 2,903 in 2013 to 6,854 in 2023, +136%. The jobs ↓
Patterson workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
55% of the jobs in Patterson are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
No single place dominates Patterson’s commute
The biggest draw, Modesto, gets only 6% of working residents, and 51% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Patterson residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Patterson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Patterson is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #481 of 847 in California. Household income holds Patterson’s grade up ($93,650, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Patterson could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Jobs in Patterson: what the 6,854 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Patterson, 2013 → 2023: 2,903 → 6,854. 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 Patterson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Patterson: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Patterson workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,771 commuters (the 11% 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.
Where Patterson’s working residents head each day
Where Patterson clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Who works in Patterson, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,763 residents head out to work, 1,443 work right here, and 5,411 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.
0.74 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 Patterson’s workers travel
About 26% 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.
Getting around Patterson: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Patterson is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #682 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% 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 9,889 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 56% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 4.3% of Patterson households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Patterson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Patterson places 967th of 1,477 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 965 | Vero Beach South FL | 30,344 | $73K | 9.1% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| 966 | Martinez GA | 33,750 | $82K | 10.0% | 6.1% | 10% | B− |
| 967 | Patterson CA | 26,587 | $94K | 9.0% | 5.7% | 16% | B− |
| 968 | Wallkill NY | 31,414 | $96K | 11.0% | 6.1% | 22% | B− |
| 969 | Nicholasville KY | 33,857 | $69K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 20% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Patterson, 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 Patterson: questions
What is the median household income in Patterson?
$93,650 (±$15,253) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Patterson?
9.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Patterson?
42 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Patterson work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (6%, 14 mi), San Jose (5%, 38 mi), Livermore (5%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Patterson walkable?
Patterson is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Patterson without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Patterson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Patterson
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.