Photo: Cliff Hutson · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Claremont top those of 90% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.9%, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Jobs and income earn Claremont A−; getting around on foot earns it A+. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.6 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
The work figures that set Claremont apart
Claremont trades workers with the towns around it
Claremont has about as many jobs (16,537) as working residents (14,834), but they are mostly different people: 12,204 residents leave for work each day while 13,907 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Claremont are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Claremont’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Claremont is Los Angeles, 41 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (1,691) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The quickest commute around
Claremont’s 27-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 32 to 33 minutes. Next door ↓
A lot of Claremont works from home
25% of Claremont workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Claremont pay little
28% of the jobs based in Claremont pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Claremont
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Claremont is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #140 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Claremont’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, 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, Claremont could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 12,204 residents head out to work, 2,630 work right here, and 13,907 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 (1.11 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.
The commute from Claremont, by distance
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.
The daily trip from Claremont: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Claremont workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,149 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.
Services make up most of the work in Claremont
16,537 jobs are based in Claremont.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Claremont, 2013 → 2023: 13,757 → 16,537. 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 Claremont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
11% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Claremont clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Claremont
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Claremont is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #34 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Claremont 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 17,406 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 5.9% of Claremont households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Claremont’s commuters take a bus or train.
377th of 1,219: where Claremont ranks among U.S. towns of 25,000 to 48,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | American Fork UT | 41,020 | $99K | 7.3% | 3.2% | 13% | A− |
| 376 | Upper Moreland Township PA | 25,880 | $99K | 5.4% | 4.8% | 7% | A− |
| 377 | Claremont CA | 35,838 | $126K | 6.9% | 5.1% | 18% | A− |
| 378 | Franklin Town MA | 33,955 | $146K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 12% | A− |
| 379 | Mountlake Terrace WA | 25,430 | $108K | 7.0% | 4.2% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,219 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Claremont, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Claremont and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Pomona (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Claremont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claremont | – | A− | A+ | 27 min | $125,647 |
| Pomona | 5% | B− | A | 32 min | $79,479 |
| La Verne | 2% | B+ | A | 33 min | $103,761 |
| San Antonio Heights | under 2% | A− | C+ | 32 min | $138,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Claremont’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 Claremont: questions
What is the median household income in Claremont?
$125,647 (±$17,110) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Claremont?
6.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Claremont?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Claremont work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (11%, 40 mi), Pomona (5%, 5 mi), Ontario (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Claremont walkable?
Claremont is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Claremont without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Claremont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Claremont
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.