Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0At 6.1%, unemployment in Taft is higher than in 75% of U.S. towns
4% of workers work from home, where California as a whole has 17%. The two grades for Taft are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 3.9 in Bakersfield.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Taft apart on work
Commutes from Taft are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Taft trades workers with the towns around it
Taft has about as many jobs (3,147) as working residents (2,748), but they are mostly different people: 1,989 residents leave for work each day while 2,388 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Taft are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Taft and Bakersfield trade workers both ways
Bakersfield is the top workplace for Taft residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Taft come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Taft workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Taft’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Taft is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #730 of 847 in California. Household income holds Taft’s grade up ($72,772, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 15% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Taft could be anywhere from D− to B.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Taft workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,781 commuters (the 4% 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.
Taft by day and by night
On a workday 1,989 residents head out to work, 759 work right here, and 2,388 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).
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 Taft’s working residents head each day
Where Taft clocks in
17% 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.
How far it is to work from Taft
About 32% 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.
33% of the jobs in Taft make or build things
3,147 jobs are based in Taft.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Taft, 2013 → 2023: 3,332 → 3,147. 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 Taft’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Taft
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Taft is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #241 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Taft 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 2,909 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 10.6% of Taft households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Taft’s commuters take a bus or train.
Taft places 2,732nd of 3,167 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,730 | Marion Township OH | 5,543 | $60K | 14.2% | 9.2% | 11% | C− |
| 2,731 | New Martinsville WV | 5,039 | $61K | 15.5% | 5.3% | 27% | C− |
| 2,732 | Taft CA | 6,995 | $73K | 16.9% | 6.1% | 28% | C− |
| 2,733 | Murphysboro Township IL | 9,333 | $53K | 13.9% | 6.7% | 19% | C− |
| 2,734 | Perry Township IN | 5,067 | $65K | 22.0% | 4.9% | 18% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | 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 Taft, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Taft: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to South Taft (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Taft workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taft | – | C− | A | 19 min | $72,772 |
| South Taft | 2% | D− | B+ | 37 min | $43,039 |
| Taft Heights | under 1% | D | C | 21 min | $54,034 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Taft’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 Taft: questions
What is the median household income in Taft?
$72,772 (±$22,114) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Taft?
16.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Taft?
19 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Taft work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (17%, 27 mi), Los Angeles (4%, 96 mi), South Taft (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Taft walkable?
Taft is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Taft without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Taft, from the people who make the trip.
More of Taft
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.