Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Aliso Viejo top those of 94% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Aliso Viejo is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (B+). Poverty touches 5.1% of residents, where California as a whole has 12.0%. At home: 26% of workers have no commute at all (California 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Aliso Viejo
A lot of Aliso Viejo works from home
26% of Aliso Viejo workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Aliso Viejo draws workers from far and wide
The 19,324 jobs in Aliso Viejo are filled from a wide area. Aliso Viejo’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Aliso Viejo pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Aliso Viejo pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Aliso Viejo earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($142,439, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aliso Viejo could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 25 minutes each way for Aliso Viejo’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aliso Viejo workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,992 commuters (the 26% 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.
17% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Aliso Viejo clocks in
17% of workers
5% 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.
72% of the jobs in Aliso Viejo pay over $3,333 a month
19,324 jobs are based in Aliso Viejo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aliso Viejo, 2014 → 2024: 16,522 → 19,324. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aliso Viejo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Aliso Viejo by day
On a workday 21,756 residents head out to work, 1,847 work right here, and 17,477 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The commute from Aliso Viejo, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Aliso Viejo, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 28,362 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 52% 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). 3.6% of Aliso Viejo households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Aliso Viejo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 35,000 to 67,000, Aliso Viejo ranks 113th of 887 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Newark CA | 47,895 | $169K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Leesburg VA | 49,917 | $145K | 6.6% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| 112 | Bel Air South MD | 58,137 | $124K | 3.9% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| 113 | Aliso Viejo CA | 49,844 | $142K | 5.1% | 4.2% | 8% | A |
| 114 | Pleasant Grove UT | 37,773 | $101K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 11% | A |
| 115 | Frankfort Township IL | 60,704 | $135K | 4.0% | 4.6% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 887 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Aliso Viejo, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Aliso Viejo and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aliso Viejo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliso Viejo | – | A | B+ | 25 min | $142,439 |
| Laguna Woods | under 3% | C+ | A | 20 min | $59,269 |
| Laguna Niguel | under 3% | A− | A− | 26 min | $140,452 |
| Laguna Hills | under 3% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $128,851 |
| Laguna Beach | under 3% | A− | A | 29 min | $143,843 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Aliso Viejo’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 2024, 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 Aliso Viejo: questions
What is the median household income in Aliso Viejo?
$142,439 (±$11,501) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aliso Viejo?
5.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aliso Viejo?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aliso Viejo work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (17%, 7 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 50 mi), Newport Beach (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Aliso Viejo walkable?
Aliso Viejo is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aliso Viejo without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aliso Viejo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aliso Viejo
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.