Type B at 2019 E. Water St · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Most of Catalina commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Jobs and income earn Catalina B−; getting around on foot earns it C. 766 jobs are based in Catalina for 2,567 working residents. Only 7% work in Catalina itself; outside it, Tucson draws the most (33%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Catalina
Catalina and Tucson trade workers both ways
Tucson is the top workplace for Catalina residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Catalina come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Catalina
56% of Catalina residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 30% of the jobs based in Catalina pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Catalina than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Catalina fell from 1,202 in 2013 to 766 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Catalina workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across Arizona. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Catalina is a place people come home to
There are 766 jobs based in Catalina, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Catalina has about 4,700 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Catalina earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Catalina is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #51 of 140 in Arizona. Unemployment holds Catalina’s grade up (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 13% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Catalina could be anywhere from C to B+.
The towns that employ Catalina’s residents
Where Catalina clocks in
33% of workers
11% of workers
10% 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 kinds of work in Catalina
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Catalina, 2013 → 2023: 1,202 → 766. 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 Catalina’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Catalina: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Catalina workers work from home, vs 18% across Arizona. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,492 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Arizona: 82% 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 many people are in Catalina by day
On a workday 2,396 residents head out to work, 171 work right here, and 595 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Catalina on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Half of Catalina commutes less than 18 miles
About 25% 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.
In Catalina, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Catalina is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #107 of 140 in Arizona. Both inputs place Catalina 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 2,845 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.1% of Catalina households have no vehicle (Arizona 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Catalina’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Catalina is 1,948th of 3,351 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 345 | Litchfield Park AZ | 6,727 | $126K | 3.9% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 347 | Citrus Park AZ | 5,115 | $141K | 8.8% | 1.3% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 439 | Rincon Valley AZ | 6,512 | $132K | 4.1% | 1.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,946 | Peach Bottom Township PA | 5,108 | $85K | 2.9% | 7.8% | 6% | B− |
| 1,947 | Butler Township PA | 5,105 | $80K | 10.8% | 3.8% | 6% | B− |
| 1,948 | Catalina AZ | 6,489 | $78K | 8.3% | 3.1% | 7% | B− |
| 1,949 | Silver Hill MD | 5,193 | $61K | 15.8% | 4.6% | <1% | B− |
| 1,950 | Crandall TX | 7,730 | $89K | 19.9% | 6.3% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,351 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Catalina, the top three, the last and three more from Arizona.
Next door is work for 14% of Catalina
The biggest share goes to Oro Valley (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Catalina workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina | – | B− | C | 32 min | $78,207 |
| Saddlebrooke | 3% | C | D− | 33 min | $88,686 |
| Oro Valley | 11% | A− | B− | 27 min | $107,117 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Catalina’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Catalina: questions
What is the median household income in Catalina?
$78,207 (±$6,944) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $79,964 across Arizona and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Catalina?
8.3%, against 12.5% across Arizona and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Catalina?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Arizona and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Catalina work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tucson (33%, 23 mi), Oro Valley (11%, 6 mi), Phoenix (10%, 102 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Catalina walkable?
Catalina is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Catalina without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Catalina, from the people who make the trip.
More of Catalina
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.