Photo: Jey0h · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Alhambra are higher than in 66% of U.S. towns
Alhambra grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. The poverty rate is 12.6%; California has 12.0%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Alhambra stands out on work
Income, poverty and work: Alhambra’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alhambra is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #374 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Alhambra’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alhambra could be anywhere from B to B+.
Alhambra quiets down on a workday
On a workday 31,703 residents head out to work, 3,000 work right here, and 21,850 people come in from elsewhere.
About 70,000 people are in Alhambra on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.72 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.
30% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Alhambra clocks in
6% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Alhambra: 24,850 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alhambra, 2013 → 2023: 23,238 → 24,850. 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 Alhambra’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Alhambra, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alhambra workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 34,737 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Alhambra, by distance
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.
Alhambra is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alhambra is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #153 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 40,602 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 42% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 7.4% of Alhambra households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Alhambra’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 566 U.S. towns of 56,000 to 108,000, Alhambra comes 298th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 296 | La Habra CA | 60,908 | $100K | 10.9% | 7.1% | 6% | B |
| 297 | Wyoming MI | 78,588 | $74K | 10.5% | 4.1% | 15% | B |
| 298 | Alhambra CA | 79,820 | $88K | 12.6% | 5.3% | 9% | B |
| 299 | Deltona FL | 100,267 | $77K | 10.2% | 3.4% | 4% | B |
| 300 | Waterford Township MI | 69,922 | $77K | 9.1% | 4.8% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 566 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Alhambra, the top three, the last and three more from California.
35% of Alhambra works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles (30%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alhambra workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alhambra | – | B | A | 30 min | $88,024 |
| San Gabriel | 2% | B+ | A | 28 min | $90,488 |
| Monterey Park | 3% | B | A+ | 28 min | $81,855 |
| Los Angeles | 30% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| San Marino | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $214,167 |
| South Pasadena | under 2% | A | A+ | 30 min | $127,175 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alhambra’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 Alhambra: questions
What is the median household income in Alhambra?
$88,024 (±$4,352) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alhambra?
12.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alhambra?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alhambra work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (30%, 16 mi), Pasadena (6%, 5 mi), Monterey Park (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alhambra walkable?
Alhambra is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alhambra without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 42% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alhambra, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alhambra
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.