Most of Bakersfield commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average; Missouri averages 24, the U.S. 26. 21 jobs are based in Bakersfield; 52 of its residents have a job. Only 4% work in Bakersfield; the top destination outside it is West Plains (15%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Bakersfield on a workday
On a workday 50 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Bakersfield on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
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 Bakersfield’s working residents head each day
Where Bakersfield clocks in
15% 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.
Jobs in Bakersfield: what the 21 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bakersfield, 2013 → 2023: 4 → 21. 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 Bakersfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Bakersfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bakersfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 72 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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 Bakersfield goes to work
About 19% 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.
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 Bakersfield: questions
What is the median household income in Bakersfield?
$37,043 (±$36,268) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bakersfield?
19.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bakersfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bakersfield work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Plains (15%, 21 mi), Mountain Home (12%, 19 mi), Gainesville (12%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bakersfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 38% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bakersfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bakersfield
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.