Photo: Michael Patrick · Public domainTracy’s household incomes are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 3.9 in Stockton. The poverty rate is 7.8%, against 12.0% across California. For jobs and income Tracy is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Tracy, in brief
Jobs in Tracy have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Tracy went from 17,363 in 2013 to 41,160 in 2023, +137%. The jobs ↓
Tracy workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
62% of the jobs in Tracy are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Tracy trades workers with the towns around it
Tracy has about as many jobs (41,160) as working residents (37,714), but they are mostly different people: 31,136 residents leave for work each day while 34,582 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Tracy are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Tracy
Household income holds Tracy’s grade up ($121,119, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tracy could be anywhere from B to A−.
Jobs in Tracy: what the 41,160 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tracy, 2013 → 2023: 17,363 → 41,160. 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 Tracy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 43 minutes each way for Tracy’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tracy workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,583 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 daily commute in and out of Tracy
On a workday 31,136 residents head out to work, 6,578 work right here, and 34,582 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 (1.09 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.
8% of working residents work in Livermore
Where Tracy clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Miles to work from Tracy
About 20% 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.
In Tracy, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 45,228 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 3.4% of Tracy households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Tracy’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 428 U.S. towns of 71,000 to 138,000, Tracy comes 171st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 24 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Chino CA | 96,957 | $105K | 8.0% | 6.5% | 11% | B+ |
| 170 | Boca Raton FL | 101,582 | $106K | 10.0% | 5.5% | 32% | B+ |
| 171 | Tracy CA | 101,901 | $121K | 7.8% | 5.5% | 17% | B+ |
| 172 | Alafaya FL | 92,449 | $101K | 9.3% | 4.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 173 | Rochester MN | 124,292 | $89K | 8.5% | 3.7% | 76% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 428 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Tracy, 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 Tracy: questions
What is the median household income in Tracy?
$121,119 (±$5,519) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tracy?
7.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tracy?
43 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tracy work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Livermore (8%, 17 mi), Stockton (6%, 19 mi), San Jose (5%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tracy walkable?
Tracy is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tracy without a car?
2% 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 Tracy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tracy
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.