Photo: Phydend at English Wikipedia · Public domainBuena Park’s household incomes are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles. Poverty touches 8.8% of residents, against 12.0% across California. For jobs and income Buena Park is better than 72% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Buena Park at work: what stands out
Buena Park trades workers with the towns around it
Buena Park has about as many jobs (33,479) as working residents (37,991), but they are mostly different people: 35,326 residents leave for work each day while 30,814 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Buena Park are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Buena Park’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Buena Park is Los Angeles, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (3,700) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Buena Park draws workers from far and wide
The 33,479 jobs in Buena Park are filled from a wide area. Buena Park’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 59% 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.
Inside Buena Park’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Buena Park’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buena Park could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
How a workday changes Buena Park
On a workday 35,326 residents head out to work, 2,665 work right here, and 30,814 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 (0.88 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Buena Park
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.
10% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Buena Park clocks in
9% 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.
Jobs in Buena Park: what the 33,479 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buena Park, 2013 → 2023: 30,606 → 33,479. 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 Buena Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Buena Park’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buena Park workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 36,451 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.
Buena Park is easy on foot, hard by bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 40,905 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, 30% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 5.3% of Buena Park households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Buena Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Buena Park next to U.S. towns of 57,000 to 110,000: 222nd of 559 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Appleton WI | 75,452 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 25% | B+ |
| 221 | Whittier CA | 85,815 | $97K | 9.1% | 5.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 222 | Buena Park CA | 81,741 | $111K | 8.8% | 5.6% | 7% | B+ |
| 223 | Frederick MD | 92,059 | $97K | 9.2% | 3.9% | 24% | B+ |
| 224 | Taylorsville UT | 57,484 | $86K | 8.9% | 4.3% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 559 | 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 Buena Park, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 13% of Buena Park’s workers
The biggest share goes to Anaheim (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buena Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Park | – | B+ | A | 29 min | $110,550 |
| Anaheim | 9% | B | A | 27 min | $95,227 |
| Fullerton | 4% | B+ | A | 31 min | $104,286 |
| La Palma | under 3% | A | A− | 33 min | $117,989 |
| Cypress | under 3% | A− | A− | 29 min | $130,215 |
| La Mirada | under 3% | A | A | 32 min | $109,288 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buena Park’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 Buena Park: questions
What is the median household income in Buena Park?
$110,550 (±$4,245) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buena Park?
8.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buena Park?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buena Park work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (10%, 26 mi), Anaheim (9%, 14 mi), Irvine (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buena Park walkable?
Buena Park is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buena Park without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buena Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buena Park
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.