Photo: Epolk at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0At 8.0%, unemployment in Compton is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
5% of workers work from home (California 17%). The two grades for Compton are C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Compton, in brief
Compton and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Compton residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Compton come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Compton draws workers from far and wide
The 27,013 jobs in Compton are filled from a wide area. Compton’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 57% 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.
How Compton earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Compton is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #543 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Compton’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Compton could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
24% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Compton clocks in
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.
Who commutes out of Compton, and who commutes in
On a workday 33,330 residents head out to work, 2,040 work right here, and 24,973 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 (0.76 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.
What work there is in Compton: 27,013 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Compton, 2013 → 2023: 28,609 → 27,013. 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 Compton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 31 minutes to work from Compton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Compton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,412 commuters (the 5% 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.
Compton’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Compton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Compton is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #170 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.4% 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 40,427 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, 58% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 7.0% of Compton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Compton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 63,000 to 122,000, Compton ranks 367th of 502 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Davenport IA | 100,358 | $66K | 15.2% | 4.6% | 47% | B− |
| 366 | Asheville NC | 93,523 | $71K | 14.3% | 5.1% | 52% | B− |
| 367 | Compton CA | 90,500 | $78K | 17.9% | 8.0% | 6% | C+ |
| 368 | Inglewood CA | 101,662 | $73K | 14.6% | 8.3% | 6% | C+ |
| 369 | Conway AR | 72,328 | $63K | 16.9% | 3.6% | 41% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 502 | 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 Compton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Compton and its neighbors: 10% work next door
The biggest share goes to Long Beach (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Compton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compton | – | C+ | A | 31 min | $78,465 |
| Willowbrook | under 2% | C | A | 33 min | $62,582 |
| Carson | 4% | B+ | A | 28 min | $108,703 |
| West Rancho Dominguez | under 2% | B− | A | 31 min | $86,834 |
| Lynwood | under 2% | C+ | A | 30 min | $74,844 |
| East Rancho Dominguez | under 2% | B− | A | 32 min | $72,895 |
| Paramount | under 2% | B | A | 28 min | $75,250 |
| Long Beach | 6% | B | A | 30 min | $87,430 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Compton’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 Compton: questions
What is the median household income in Compton?
$78,465 (±$4,163) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Compton?
17.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Compton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Compton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (24%, 14 mi), Long Beach (6%, 8 mi), Carson (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Compton walkable?
Compton is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Compton without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 58% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Compton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Compton
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.