Kearney, M. Theo, Park and Mansion · Photo: R&sbwn · CC BY-SA 3.0About half of West Park’s working residents commute to Fresno
Jobs and income earn West Park C; getting around on foot earns it C−. At home: 6% of workers have no commute at all (California 17%). Measured by household income, West Park is behind 73% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: West Park in brief
Commutes from West Park are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 343 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
West Park’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, West Park is better than 32% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds West Park’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (26.2%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (13.4%) is left out: West Park’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Park could be anywhere from C− to B.
The towns that employ West Park’s residents
Where West Park clocks in
46% 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.
Getting to work from West Park takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Park workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 320 commuters (the 6% 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.
Who leaves West Park for work, and who comes in
On a workday 339 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 128 people come in from elsewhere.
About 930 people are in West Park on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.38 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.
West Park works in goods: 35% of its jobs
132 jobs are based in West Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Park, 2013 → 2023: 52 → 132. 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 Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from West Park
About 24% 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.
The commute in West Park is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Park is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 339 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 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). 3.2% of West Park households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,015th of 3,771: where West Park ranks 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,013 | Ashton Township IL | 1,120 | $71K | 12.0% | 7.9% | 11% | C |
| 2,014 | Vinalhaven ME | 1,254 | $73K | 7.3% | 2.2% | 41% | C |
| 2,015 | West Park CA | 1,136 | $61K | 26.2% | 13.4% | 1% | C |
| 2,016 | Cedar Hill MO | 1,261 | $61K | 15.9% | 3.7% | 2% | C |
| 2,017 | Kissee Mills MO | 1,081 | $67K | 7.2% | 0.0% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 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 West Park, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 46% of West Park
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Fresno. Darker towns draw more of West Park’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 Park: questions
What is the median household income in West Park?
$60,625 (±$11,771) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Park?
26.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Park?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Park work?
1% work in town.
Is West Park walkable?
West Park is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Park without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Park
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.