Photo: Clinton Steeds from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0Big Pine has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Big Pine report 155 jobs for 726 working residents. The two grades for Big Pine are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.7 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
Work in Big Pine, in a few figures
A big share show a job far from home
46% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Big Pine is a place people come home to
There are 155 jobs based in Big Pine, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Big Pine has about 1,000 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Big Pine are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 726 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Big Pine’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Big Pine is better than 23% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Big Pine’s grade up (9.1%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 2% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Big Pine’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Big Pine could be anywhere from D to B−.
How far Big Pine goes to work
About 46% 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.
Who works in Big Pine, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 676 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 105 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Big Pine on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
The daily trip from Big Pine: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Pine workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 629 commuters (the 9% 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.
19% of working residents work in Bishop
Where Big Pine clocks in
19% 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.
What Big Pine’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Pine, 2013 → 2023: 155 → 155. 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 Pine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Big Pine is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Pine is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Big Pine near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 692 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 6.7% of Big Pine households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Big Pine’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Big Pine is 4,117th of 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Baywood Park CA | 1,580 | $217K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Irwindale CA | 1,439 | $114K | 4.3% | 6.5% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,115 | Hideout UT | 1,587 | $99K | 19.9% | 0.8% | <1% | C− |
| 4,116 | Elroy WI | 1,255 | $58K | 10.1% | 0.7% | 10% | C− |
| 4,117 | Big Pine CA | 1,615 | $68K | 9.1% | 3.2% | 7% | C− |
| 4,118 | Belfast NY | 1,627 | $65K | 9.0% | 2.0% | 11% | C− |
| 4,119 | Clay Township OH | 1,516 | $71K | 11.7% | 7.2% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Big Pine, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Pine: questions
What is the median household income in Big Pine?
$67,583 (±$19,599) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Pine?
9.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Pine?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Pine work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bishop (19%, 15 mi), Independence (13%, 24 mi), Fresno (5%, 87 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Pine walkable?
Big Pine is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Pine without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Pine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Pine
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.