Spotswood House · Photo: Renata Earles · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs, income and commuting in Potter Valley, CA
A typical one-way commute from Potter Valley lasts 38 minutes (California 29, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Potter Valley; the top destination outside it is Ukiah (22%, 13 miles). There are 138 jobs in Potter Valley; 199 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Potter Valley by day
On a workday 177 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 116 people come in from elsewhere.
About 380 people are in Potter Valley on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
Commuting out of Potter Valley: the destinations
Where Potter Valley clocks in
22% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
Goods jobs make up 38% of work in Potter Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Potter Valley, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 138. 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 Potter Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Potter Valley, about 38 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Potter Valley workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 159 commuters (the 15% 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 commute from Potter Valley, by distance
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.
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 Potter Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Potter Valley?
$121,071 (±$80,898) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Potter Valley?
4.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Potter Valley?
38 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Potter Valley work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ukiah (22%, 13 mi), Santa Rosa (4%, 64 mi), Willits (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Potter Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Potter Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Potter Valley
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.