Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Coachella (9.1%) is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
3% of workers have no commute at all, where California as a whole has 17%. Coachella grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.3 in Riverside.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Coachella and work: the main findings
Few Coachella workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Coachella are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 ↓
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.
Why Coachella gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Coachella is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #631 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Coachella’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Coachella could be anywhere from C to C+.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Coachella
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Coachella workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,283 commuters (the 3% 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 it is to work from Coachella
About 31% 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.
Coachella quiets down on a workday
On a workday 15,271 residents head out to work, 1,938 work right here, and 5,049 people come in from elsewhere.
About 35,000 people are in Coachella on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.41 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
14% of working residents work in Indio
Where Coachella clocks in
14% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
Coachella works in goods: 31% of its jobs
6,987 jobs are based in Coachella.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Coachella, 2013 → 2023: 6,282 → 6,987. 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 Coachella’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Coachella
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Coachella is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #379 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.2% 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 20,882 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 4.3% of Coachella households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Coachella’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Coachella ranks: 801st of 953 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Newark CA | 47,895 | $169K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 799 | McMinnville OR | 34,647 | $74K | 16.0% | 5.5% | 35% | C |
| 800 | Woonsocket RI | 44,580 | $61K | 18.7% | 6.8% | 15% | C |
| 801 | Coachella CA | 45,411 | $69K | 10.2% | 9.1% | 11% | C |
| 802 | Riviera Beach FL | 39,357 | $68K | 18.4% | 8.6% | 9% | C |
| 803 | Adams Township IN | 35,669 | $60K | 16.4% | 6.0% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | 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 Coachella, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 16% of Coachella
The biggest share goes to Indio (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Coachella workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachella | – | C | A− | 23 min | $68,596 |
| Indio | 14% | B− | B+ | 23 min | $77,167 |
| Vista Santa Rosa | under 3% | B | B+ | 27 min | $70,474 |
| Thermal | 2% | — | B+ | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Coachella’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 Coachella: questions
What is the median household income in Coachella?
$68,596 (±$4,684) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Coachella?
10.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Coachella?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Coachella work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indio (14%, 6 mi), Palm Desert (10%, 13 mi), La Quinta (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Coachella walkable?
Coachella is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Coachella without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Coachella, from the people who make the trip.
More of Coachella
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.