Photo: Justefrain · CC BY-SA 3.0Commerce has 9.1 jobs for every working resident: 43,561 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B+: better than 67% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #329 of 847 in California.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns · #80 of 847 in California.
Household incomes here are higher than in 52% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 27 minutes each way (California 29, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Commerce; the top destination outside it is Los Angeles (25%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Commerce
Commerce fills up on a workday
Commerce has 44,133 jobs, 9.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 51,000 people are in town, 4 times the 12,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Commerce works one town over
37% of working residents work in a town that borders Commerce: Los Angeles (25%), Montebello (3%) and Vernon (3%). Next door ↓
Commerce draws workers from far and wide
The 44,133 jobs in Commerce are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 37%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
43% of the jobs in Commerce are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The biggest group of Commerce’s workers comes from Los Angeles
8,562 of the people who work in Commerce live in Los Angeles, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. 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.
What’s behind Commerce’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Commerce is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #329 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Commerce’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Commerce could be anywhere from B− to A.
Commerce’s population more than triples on a workday
On a workday 4,286 residents head out to work, 572 work right here, and 43,561 people come in from elsewhere.
About 51,000 people are in Commerce on a workday afternoon, 336% more than live here.
9.1 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.
Where Commerce’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Commerce clocks in
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 44,133 jobs in Commerce are
44,133 jobs are based in Commerce. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Commerce’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Commerce, 2013 → 2023: 43,986 → 44,133. 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.
About 27 minutes each way, about the CA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Commerce workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,634 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.
Half of Commerce commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Commerce is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Commerce is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #80 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Commerce 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 5,098 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, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 12.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 13.1% of Commerce households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Commerce’s commuters take a bus or train.
Commerce is 1,192nd of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Commerce, the top three, the last and three more from California.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,190 | Van Buren NY | 14,038 | $74K | 8.5% | 3.2% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,191 | Gages Lake IL | 10,819 | $103K | 7.0% | 9.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,192 | Commerce CA | 11,688 | $77K | 12.4% | 3.9% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,193 | Molalla OR | 10,104 | $89K | 4.3% | 4.7% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,194 | North Logan UT | 11,608 | $90K | 14.4% | 1.4% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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.
37% of Commerce works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles (25%). Darker towns draw more of Commerce’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Commerce workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce | – | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $77,064 |
| Montebello | 3% | B− | A | 31 min | $79,971 |
| East Los Angeles | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 30 min | $68,741 |
| Bell | 2% | C | A+ | 30 min | $61,020 |
| Bell Gardens | 2% | C+ | A+ | 28 min | $62,298 |
| Vernon | 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Downey | 2% | B+ | A | 31 min | $90,699 |
| Los Angeles | 25% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
Same-state neighbors only. Vernon: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Commerce: questions
What is the median household income in Commerce?
$77,064 (±$8,483) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Commerce?
12.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Commerce?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Commerce work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (25%, 15 mi), Montebello (3%, 3 mi), Vernon (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Commerce walkable?
Commerce is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Commerce without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Commerce, from the people who make the trip.
More of Commerce
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.