Big Lagoon has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
23% of workers have no commute at all, against 17% across California. Employers in Big Lagoon report 10 jobs, against 35 working residents. Hardly any work in Big Lagoon itself; outside it, Eureka draws the most (26%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Big Lagoon on a workday afternoon
On a workday 35 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 110 people are in Big Lagoon on a workday afternoon, 18% 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.
Where Big Lagoon goes to work
Where Big Lagoon clocks in
26% of workers
20% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Lagoon, 2013 → 2023: 13 → 10. 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 Big Lagoon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Big Lagoon
of Big Lagoon workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37 commuters (the 23% 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 Big Lagoon’s workers travel
About 17% 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.
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 Big Lagoon: questions
What is the median household income in Big Lagoon?
$57,438 (±$29,460) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Lagoon?
13.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Big Lagoon work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eureka (26%, 25 mi), Arcata (20%, 21 mi), McKinleyville (11%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Lagoon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Lagoon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Lagoon
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.