Few U.S. towns have household incomes as low as Redway’s
Measured by household income, Redway is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. 36.7% of residents live below the poverty line, where California as a whole has 12.0%. The two grades for Redway are D− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Redway
On income, poverty and job access, Redway is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Redway’s grade.
Unemployment (14.9%) is left out: Redway’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Redway stays D−.
The daily commute in and out of Redway
On a workday 142 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 367 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Redway on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Redway’s workers come from
Where Redway clocks in
5% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
What the 392 jobs in Redway are
392 jobs are based in Redway.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Redway, 2013 → 2023: 360 → 392. 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 Redway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 13 minutes from Redway
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Redway workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 388 commuters (the 0% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Redway
About 49% 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.
Redway is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Redway is among the most walkable U.S. towns. Both inputs place Redway 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 388 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, 100% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 0.0% of Redway households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Redway’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Redway sits among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 15 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Canyon Day AZ | 1,182 | $36K | 40.2% | 8.7% | 0% | D− |
| 3,759 | Dilkon AZ | 1,270 | $38K | 40.6% | 8.7% | 5% | D− |
| 3,760 | Redway CA | 1,145 | $24K | 36.7% | 14.9% | 15% | D− |
| 3,761 | Covelo CA | 1,286 | $35K | 36.5% | 22.4% | 27% | D− |
| 3,762 | Towaoc CO | 1,078 | $23K | 62.0% | 13.1% | 29% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Redway, 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 Redway: questions
What is the median household income in Redway?
$23,720 (±$15,195) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Redway?
36.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Redway?
13 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Redway work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Garberville (5%, 2 mi), Sacramento (4%, 165 mi), Eureka (4%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Redway walkable?
Redway is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Redway without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 100% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Redway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Redway
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.