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Jobs & commute in Sacramento

With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Sacramento works elsewhere

There are 52 jobs in Sacramento; 148 of its residents have a job. Only 2% stay in Sacramento for work; outside it, Owensboro is the main destination (19%, 25 miles). The average commute takes 41 minutes each way; Kentucky averages 24, the U.S. 26.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Sacramento on a workday afternoon

On a workday 145 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 49 people come in from elsewhere.

145live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
49work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night420
Workday330
420live here− 150head out to work+ 49come in to work= 330on a workday

About 330 people are in Sacramento on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.35jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Sacramento: the destinations

ShawneetownMount CarmelEvansville: 6 residents work here (4%)BremenIsland: 4 residents work here (3%)CentertownSacramentoCalhoun: 10 residents work here (7%)LivermoreNortonvilleHanson: 4 residents work here (3%)Hartford: 2 residents work here (1%)Central City: 5 residents work here (3%)Henderson: 4 residents work here (3%)Madisonville: 10 residents work here (7%)Owensboro: 28 residents work here (19%)OwensboroCalhounMadisonvilleEvansvilleCentral CityIslandSacramento
1
Owensboro24.9 mi away
19%28
2
Calhoun8.6 mi away
7%10
3
Madisonville14 mi away
7%10
4
Evansville, IN42.1 mi away
4%6
5
Central City11.3 mi away
3%5
6
Island6.9 mi away
3%4
7
Hanson11.6 mi away
3%4
8
Henderson33.7 mi away
3%4
9
Sacramento (in town)right here
2%3
10
Hartford20.9 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
49%72
The top trips

Where Sacramento clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Jobs in Sacramento: what the 52 are

Jobs based in SacramentoJobs Sacramento residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms19%24%
Trade, transport & utilities17%26%
Services: health, schools, offices63%50%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less12%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month50%29%
Over $3,333 a month38%60%

Who does it

29 or younger19%22%
30 to 5452%57%
55 and older29%21%
−29%

Jobs based in Sacramento, 2014 → 2024: 73 → 52. 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 2024.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sacramento’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 41 minutes each way for Sacramento’s commuters

A year of commuting
312 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Sacramento41 min
Kentucky24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
6%

of Sacramento workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Sacramento gets to work
88%Drive alone
8%Carpool
4%Walk

Share of the 106 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

How far

Close to home or a long way: work trips from Sacramento

10 mi25 mi50 miOwensboro: 19% · 24.9 miCalhoun: 7% · 8.6 miMadisonville: 7% · 14 miEvansville: 4% · 42.1 miCentral City: 3% · 11.3 miIsland: 3% · 6.9 miHanson: 3% · 11.6 miHenderson: 3% · 33.7 miHartford: 1% · 20.9 miOwensboro 19%Calhoun 7%Madisonville 7%Evansville 4%Central City 3%Sacramento
SacramentoTop destinations (size = commuters)
26%Under 10 mi38 residents
33%10–24 mi48 residents
24%25–50 mi35 residents
18%Over 50 mi26 residents

About 18% 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 2024.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Sacramento: questions

What is the median household income in Sacramento?

$34,107 (±$24,668) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Sacramento?

32.8%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Sacramento?

41 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Sacramento work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Owensboro (19%, 25 mi), Calhoun (7%, 9 mi), Madisonville (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).

Can you get around Sacramento without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Sacramento, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Sacramento

Sacramento home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.