At 11.4%, unemployment in Potomac Park is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 3.9 in Bakersfield. The two grades for Potomac Park are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Measured by household income, Potomac Park is behind 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Potomac Park: the figures worth knowing
Potomac Park and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for Potomac Park residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Potomac Park come from (44% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Potomac Park 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 ↓
Potomac Park makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Potomac Park are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Potomac Park residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
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.
Potomac Park’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Potomac Park is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #727 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Potomac Park’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Potomac Park could be anywhere from D to C.
39% of working residents work in Bakersfield
Where Potomac Park clocks in
39% 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.
About 23 minutes to work from Potomac Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Potomac Park workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,458 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.
Goods jobs make up 35% of work in Potomac Park
1,057 jobs are based in Potomac Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Potomac Park, 2013 → 2023: 843 → 1,057. 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 Potomac Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Potomac Park on a workday
On a workday 2,754 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 990 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Potomac Park on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.37 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 many miles Potomac Park commutes
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Potomac Park
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Potomac Park is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #405 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 3,631 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 89% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 6.1% of Potomac Park households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Potomac Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,516th of 2,878: where Potomac Park ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,514 | Salem OH | 11,655 | $47K | 21.3% | 6.2% | 26% | C− |
| 2,515 | Riverton WY | 10,910 | $55K | 11.9% | 5.7% | 51% | C− |
| 2,516 | Potomac Park CA | 10,138 | $51K | 20.9% | 11.4% | 2% | C− |
| 2,517 | Murphysboro Township IL | 9,333 | $53K | 13.9% | 6.7% | 19% | C− |
| 2,518 | August CA | 8,825 | $53K | 26.9% | 10.9% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Potomac Park, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Potomac Park and its neighbors: 39% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Potomac Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potomac Park | – | C− | A− | 23 min | $51,166 |
| Bakersfield | 39% | C+ | B+ | 24 min | $80,540 |
| East Bakersfield | under 1% | D | A− | 24 min | $38,644 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bakersfield. Darker towns draw more of Potomac Park’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 Potomac Park: questions
What is the median household income in Potomac Park?
$51,166 (±$6,104) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Potomac Park?
20.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Potomac Park?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Potomac Park work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (39%, 4 mi), Los Angeles (4%, 98 mi), East Niles (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Potomac Park walkable?
Potomac Park is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Potomac Park without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 89% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Potomac Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Potomac Park
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.