Photo: YonderStone · CC BY-SA 4.0Bellflower has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. 16,939 jobs are based in Bellflower for 32,817 working residents. Bellflower grades B− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Bellflower: the gist
Bellflower and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Bellflower residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Bellflower come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Bellflower draws workers from far and wide
The 16,939 jobs in Bellflower are filled from a wide area. Bellflower’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Bellflower’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bellflower is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #500 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Bellflower’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.6%, 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, Bellflower could be anywhere from C+ to B.
18% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Bellflower clocks in
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.
In and out of Bellflower on a workday
On a workday 31,278 residents head out to work, 1,539 work right here, and 15,400 people come in from elsewhere.
About 59,000 people are in Bellflower on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Bellflower
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bellflower, 2013 → 2023: 18,575 → 16,939. 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 Bellflower’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Bellflower takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bellflower workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 32,279 commuters (the 10% 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.
How far Bellflower’s workers travel
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 Bellflower, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bellflower is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #258 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% 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 35,887 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 6.1% of Bellflower households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bellflower’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 599 U.S. towns of 52,000 to 101,000, Bellflower comes 401st 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 399 | Parma OH | 78,581 | $69K | 10.1% | 6.5% | 10% | B− |
| 400 | Ogden UT | 89,510 | $73K | 13.7% | 4.1% | 36% | B− |
| 401 | Bellflower CA | 74,719 | $79K | 13.3% | 7.6% | 5% | B− |
| 402 | Southfield MI | 76,111 | $68K | 10.3% | 6.9% | 11% | B− |
| 403 | Pinellas Park FL | 52,295 | $63K | 12.9% | 4.6% | 13% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | 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 Bellflower, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bellflower and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Downey (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bellflower workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellflower | – | B− | A | 29 min | $78,722 |
| Norwalk | under 2% | B+ | A | 30 min | $100,085 |
| Downey | 3% | B+ | A | 31 min | $90,699 |
| Paramount | 2% | B | A | 28 min | $75,250 |
| Lakewood | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $119,177 |
| Cerritos | 3% | A | A− | 32 min | $135,439 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bellflower’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 Bellflower: questions
What is the median household income in Bellflower?
$78,722 (±$4,435) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bellflower?
13.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bellflower?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bellflower work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (18%, 19 mi), Long Beach (8%, 8 mi), Anaheim (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bellflower walkable?
Bellflower is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bellflower without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bellflower, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bellflower
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.