Photo: CrispyCream27 · CC BY-SA 4.0Anaheim’s household incomes are higher than in 73% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Anaheim are B for jobs and income and A for walkability. 12.4% of residents are in poverty, against 12.0% across California. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Anaheim
Where Anaheim’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Anaheim is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #367 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Anaheim’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, 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, Anaheim could be anywhere from B to B+.
7% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Anaheim clocks in
7% of workers
7% 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.
Anaheim by day and by night
On a workday 125,149 residents head out to work, 25,191 work right here, and 159,026 people come in from elsewhere.
About 375,000 people are in Anaheim on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What the 184,217 jobs in Anaheim are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Anaheim, 2013 → 2023: 161,782 → 184,217. 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 Anaheim’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Anaheim, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Anaheim workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 152,058 commuters (the 11% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Anaheim
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Anaheim
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Anaheim is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #240 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.5% 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 171,035 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 5.6% of Anaheim households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Anaheim’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 239,000 to 460,000, Anaheim ranks 17th of 55 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 2 | Gilbert AZ | 287,285 | $123K | 5.3% | 3.5% | 15% | A |
| 3 | Plano TX | 293,028 | $112K | 6.8% | 4.0% | 23% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Irvine CA | 318,764 | $137K | 10.8% | 5.9% | 29% | B+ |
| 10 | Santa Ana CA | 315,586 | $94K | 10.8% | 4.8% | 18% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Chula Vista CA | 275,533 | $108K | 8.7% | 8.0% | 17% | B+ |
| 16 | Durham NC | 305,561 | $82K | 11.7% | 3.8% | 42% | B+ |
| 17 | Anaheim CA | 341,008 | $95K | 12.4% | 5.8% | 17% | B |
| 18 | Urban Honolulu HI | 345,482 | $87K | 11.9% | 4.8% | 76% | B |
| 19 | Jersey City NJ | 302,013 | $98K | 15.6% | 5.5% | 17% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Oakland CA | 440,838 | $102K | 13.4% | 6.4% | 26% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
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 Anaheim, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 14% of Anaheim
The biggest share goes to Orange (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Anaheim workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | – | B | A | 27 min | $95,227 |
| Orange | 6% | A− | A | 26 min | $117,113 |
| Buena Park | 2% | B+ | A | 29 min | $110,550 |
| Yorba Linda | under 2% | A | B+ | 31 min | $157,582 |
| Placentia | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $115,929 |
| Stanton | under 2% | B− | A | 29 min | $84,707 |
| Fullerton | 3% | B+ | A | 31 min | $104,286 |
| Garden Grove | 3% | B | A− | 29 min | $92,174 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Anaheim’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 Anaheim: questions
What is the median household income in Anaheim?
$95,227 (±$2,995) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Anaheim?
12.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Anaheim?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Anaheim work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (7%, 12 mi), Santa Ana (7%, 11 mi), Los Angeles (6%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Anaheim walkable?
Anaheim is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Anaheim without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Anaheim, from the people who make the trip.
More of Anaheim
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.