StanCareers
The goal of StanCAREERS is to ensure that Stanislaus County job seekers are ready to enter self-sustaining employment.
Priority Focus
Understanding the income levels of Stanislaus County residents has been foundational to the work of StanCAREERS. The living wage in Stanislaus County for a single adult is $12.12/hour. For one adult and one child, the living wage is $26.14/hour. For the top 100 in-demand jobs, the median wage is $21.84/hour.
Why this Matters
Connecting postsecondary graduates to good jobs is the ultimate goal of the cradle to career pipeline. Students who are employed within a year of graduation are on their way to achieving self-sufficiency. When a community’s workforce is fully engaged, the entire community is stronger.
Median Income vs. Living Wage
SOURCE: US Census, American Community Survey 2021 five-year estimate, Stanislaus County.
SOURCE: MIT Living Wage Calculator, January 2024, Stanislaus County.
Stanislaus County Unemployment Rate Continues to Decrease
SOURCE: US Census, American Community Survey 2021 five-year estimate, Stanislaus County; US Census, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimate, California.
Key Insights and Challenges
Family composition matters when it comes to earning a living wage. The median income in Stanislaus County is 19% below the estimated living wage for a single parent with three children.
Two-thirds of Stanislaus County residents who live in poverty are employed, which means many individuals are working hard in one or more jobs and yet not earning a wage in which they can support themselves or their families.
Opportunities to upskill are unclear. We mapped career preparation programs in the county to build a searchable platform for job seekers to access training programs that can lead to higher wage jobs.
“At Bay Valley Tech, we feel that training local workers for high-paying, in-demand tech jobs is the best way to move families out of poverty. Software skills are now highly sought after in many Central Valley industries such as transportation, construction, food processing and agriculture.”
— PHIL LAN, PRESIDENT OF BAY VALLEY TECH