Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0California’s household incomes are lower than in 68% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in California; the top destination outside it is Jefferson City (29%, 22 miles). 11.6% of residents are in poverty, against 12.6% across Missouri. California grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: California in brief
How California earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, California is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #146 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds California’s grade up (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, California could be anywhere from D to B+.
Where the trip to work from California ends
Where California clocks in
29% of workers
6% of workers
2% 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.
The daily flow of workers through California
On a workday 1,657 residents head out to work, 435 work right here, and 1,056 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,900 people are in California on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
Inside California’s 1,491 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in California, 2013 → 2023: 1,299 → 1,491. 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 California’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way for California’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of California workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,138 commuters (the 6% 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 California’s workers travel
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.
Driving is how California gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, California is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #73 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place California near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,282 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.9% of California households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of California’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, California is 2,732nd of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,730 | Ivanhoe CA | 4,629 | $52K | 17.9% | 3.6% | 6% | C |
| 2,731 | Brookland AR | 4,697 | $57K | 12.5% | 5.5% | 5% | C |
| 2,732 | California MO | 4,523 | $64K | 11.6% | 4.5% | 21% | C |
| 2,733 | Williamsport Township KS | 4,334 | $56K | 22.3% | 3.9% | 2% | C |
| 2,734 | Brookridge FL | 4,923 | $54K | 8.1% | 6.3% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 California, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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 California: questions
What is the median household income in California?
$63,864 (±$14,111) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in California?
11.6%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from California?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in California work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jefferson City (29%, 22 mi), Columbia (6%, 25 mi), Jamestown (2%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is California walkable?
California is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around California without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from California, from the people who make the trip.
More of California
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.