Photo: brewbooks · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Calabasas earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Calabasas are B+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 8.8% of residents, next to 12.0% across California. Only 7% work in Calabasas; the top destination outside it is Los Angeles (42%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Calabasas
Calabasas and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Calabasas residents (42%) and also where the most people who work in Calabasas come from (38% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Calabasas is where the jobs are
Calabasas has 14,770 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The biggest group of Calabasas’ workers comes from Los Angeles
5,608 of the people who work in Calabasas live in Los Angeles, 17 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
Calabasas workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (29 to 31 minutes). 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Calabasas
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Calabasas is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #314 of 847 in California. Household income holds Calabasas’ grade up ($165,288, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (10.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Calabasas could be anywhere from B to A−.
The towns that send workers to Calabasas
Where Calabasas clocks in
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.
Calabasas on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,993 residents head out to work, 674 work right here, and 14,096 people come in from elsewhere.
About 27,000 people are in Calabasas on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting from Calabasas: about 34 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Calabasas workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,082 commuters (the 24% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
14,770 jobs are based in Calabasas.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Calabasas, 2013 → 2023: 14,302 → 14,770. 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 Calabasas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Calabasas
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.
Calabasas is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Calabasas is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #562 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 10,595 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 20% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 1.7% of Calabasas households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Calabasas’ commuters take a bus or train.
Calabasas places 894th of 1,847 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Coto de Caza CA | 15,190 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 892 | Havre de Grace MD | 15,630 | $106K | 9.0% | 4.2% | 10% | B+ |
| 893 | Ludlow MA | 21,279 | $85K | 6.8% | 4.9% | 11% | B+ |
| 894 | Calabasas CA | 22,027 | $165K | 8.8% | 10.6% | 7% | B+ |
| 895 | Bensenville IL | 18,525 | $80K | 7.6% | 5.6% | 9% | B+ |
| 896 | South St. Paul MN | 20,532 | $88K | 8.3% | 5.9% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Calabasas, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bordering towns draw 44% of Calabasas’ workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Calabasas workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calabasas | – | B+ | B+ | 34 min | $165,288 |
| Topanga | under 2% | A− | B | 29 min | $157,045 |
| Los Angeles | 42% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| Agoura Hills | 2% | A− | B | 29 min | $171,302 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles. Darker towns draw more of Calabasas’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 Calabasas: questions
What is the median household income in Calabasas?
$165,288 (±$15,759) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Calabasas?
8.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Calabasas?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Calabasas work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (42%, 16 mi), Burbank (5%, 20 mi), Thousand Oaks (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Calabasas walkable?
Calabasas is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Calabasas without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Calabasas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Calabasas
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.