Photo: Valente Quintero Castro · CC BY 3.0At 8.6%, unemployment in Riverbank is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Riverbank itself; outside it, Modesto draws the most (22%, 7 miles). The two grades for Riverbank are C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 8% of workers work from home, next to 17% for California as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Riverbank apart on work
Riverbank and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for Riverbank residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Riverbank come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Riverbank has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Riverbank went from 2,639 in 2013 to 3,919 in 2023, +49%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Riverbank
62% of Riverbank residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Riverbank pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Riverbank’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverbank is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #543 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Riverbank’s grade up (ahead of 74% 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, Riverbank could be anywhere from C+ to B.
The towns that employ Riverbank’s residents
Where Riverbank clocks in
22% 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.
Jobs in Riverbank: what the 3,919 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverbank, 2013 → 2023: 2,639 → 3,919. 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 Riverbank’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Riverbank for work, and who comes in
On a workday 10,458 residents head out to work, 617 work right here, and 3,302 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Riverbank on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.35 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.
About 30 minutes each way, about the CA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverbank workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,497 commuters (the 8% 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.
Riverbank’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Few in Riverbank walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverbank is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #527 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 10,360 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 2.6% of Riverbank households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Riverbank’s commuters take a bus or train.
Riverbank next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000: 1,071st of 1,477 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,069 | Piqua OH | 21,064 | $68K | 17.6% | 3.7% | 23% | B− |
| 1,070 | Sweetwater FL | 20,828 | $55K | 16.3% | 4.4% | 5% | B− |
| 1,071 | Riverbank CA | 26,557 | $88K | 12.8% | 8.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,072 | Gillette WY | 34,024 | $81K | 9.8% | 4.6% | 55% | C+ |
| 1,073 | Florida Ridge FL | 20,889 | $67K | 11.3% | 3.5% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Riverbank, 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 Riverbank: questions
What is the median household income in Riverbank?
$87,966 (±$7,957) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverbank?
12.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverbank?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverbank work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (22%, 7 mi), Stockton (4%, 26 mi), Oakdale (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverbank walkable?
Riverbank is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverbank without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverbank, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverbank
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.