Work & commute · Atwater

Work & commute in Atwater, CA

Most working residents leave Atwater for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Merced (17%), Turlock (5%) and Modesto (5%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,306 of 12,184 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,878 Atwater residents head out of town to work, 1,306 work right here, and 5,169 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Atwater.

10,878live here, work elsewhere

1,306live and work here

5,169work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Atwater goes to work

Merced7.3 mi away

17%2,065

Atwater (in town)right here

11%1,306

Turlock18.1 mi away

5%619

Modesto29.9 mi away

5%571

Livingston7.6 mi away

4%432

Fresno59 mi away

3%362

San Jose67.2 mi away

3%359

Winton2.7 mi away

1%171

San Francisco136.1 mi away

1%163

Ceres26.7 mi away

1%154

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%5,982

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Atwater commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

40%

12%

13%

35%

40%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Atwater is a commuter town

0.53jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.53 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Atwater are

6,475 jobs are based in Atwater. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Atwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Atwater

6,475 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Atwater residents hold

12,184 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+50%

Jobs based in Atwater, 2013 → 2023: 4,318 → 6,475. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.