Unemployment in West Modesto (12.1%) is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income West Modesto is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (B+). 9% of workers work from home, where California as a whole has 17%. Household incomes here are lower than in 72% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where West Modesto stands out on work
The better-paid jobs are outside West Modesto
56% of West Modesto residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 9% of the jobs based in West Modesto pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
West Modesto and Modesto trade workers both ways
Modesto is the top workplace for West Modesto residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in West Modesto come from (36% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
West Modesto is a place people come home to
There are 350 jobs based in West Modesto, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday West Modesto has about 4,300 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% 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 ↓
Many jobs in West Modesto pay little
26% of the jobs based in West Modesto pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 55% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Jobs & income in West Modesto: the grade in detail
Job access by car holds West Modesto’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Modesto could be anywhere from C− to B−.
What the 350 jobs in West Modesto are
350 jobs are based in West Modesto.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Modesto, 2013 → 2023: 236 → 350. 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 West Modesto’s own residents hold wherever they work.
21% of working residents work in Modesto
Where West Modesto clocks in
21% 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.
A workday in West Modesto: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,019 residents head out to work, 24 work right here, and 326 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in West Modesto on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.17 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.
How far it is to work from West Modesto
About 36% 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.
Commuting from West Modesto: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Modesto workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,170 commuters (the 9% 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.
In West Modesto, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 2,391 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 59% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.6% of West Modesto households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Modesto’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Modesto is 2,518th of 3,394 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,100 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,516 | Jasper GA | 5,400 | $52K | 27.2% | 0.1% | 16% | C |
| 2,517 | Mayfield NY | 6,073 | $72K | 15.3% | 4.7% | 9% | C |
| 2,518 | West Modesto CA | 5,978 | $61K | 12.4% | 12.1% | 1% | C |
| 2,519 | La Feria TX | 7,222 | $45K | 25.0% | 3.8% | 5% | C |
| 2,520 | Coloma Township MI | 4,968 | $60K | 13.0% | 5.3% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,394 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 West Modesto, the top three, the last and three more from California.
21% of West Modesto works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Modesto workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Modesto | – | C | B+ | 31 min | $61,440 |
| Modesto | 21% | B− | A | 30 min | $79,891 |
| Riverdale Park | under 2% | C+ | D | 37 min | $61,786 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Modesto. Darker towns draw more of West Modesto’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 West Modesto: questions
What is the median household income in West Modesto?
$61,440 (±$7,064) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Modesto?
12.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Modesto?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Modesto work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Modesto (21%, 2 mi), Stockton (4%, 29 mi), Ceres (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Modesto walkable?
West Modesto is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Modesto without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 59% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Modesto, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Modesto
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.