Household incomes in El Segundo top those of 95% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles. 5.3% of residents are in poverty (California 12.0%). Jobs and income earn El Segundo A; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in El Segundo
El Segundo fills up on a workday
El Segundo has 74,172 jobs, 9.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 82,000 people are in town, 5 times the 16,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in El Segundo
35% of El Segundo workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in El Segundo pay over $40,000 a year
84% of the jobs based in El Segundo pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
El Segundo and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for El Segundo residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in El Segundo come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most El Segundo residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in El Segundo
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, El Segundo is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #115 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds El Segundo’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, 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, El Segundo could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily commute in and out of El Segundo
On a workday 6,610 residents head out to work, 1,678 work right here, and 72,494 people come in from elsewhere.
About 82,000 people are in El Segundo on a workday afternoon, 402% more than live here.
8.9 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.
A commute of about 24 minutes in El Segundo
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of El Segundo workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,001 commuters (the 35% 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.
El Segundo makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
74,172 jobs are based in El Segundo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in El Segundo, 2013 → 2023: 66,208 → 74,172. 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 El Segundo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where El Segundo’s workers come from
Where El Segundo clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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.
How far El Segundo’s workers travel
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.
El Segundo is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, El Segundo is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #75 of 847 in California. Both inputs place El Segundo 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 9,242 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% 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 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 2.0% of El Segundo households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of El Segundo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, El Segundo is 550th among 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Coto de Caza CA | 15,190 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 548 | Lower Saucon Township PA | 11,134 | $125K | 5.3% | 4.3% | 4% | A |
| 549 | Pinole CA | 18,543 | $128K | 6.9% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| 550 | El Segundo CA | 16,379 | $151K | 5.3% | 6.0% | 20% | A |
| 551 | Schiller Park IL | 11,317 | $70K | 2.5% | 3.4% | 6% | A |
| 552 | Cumru Township PA | 15,927 | $91K | 7.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | 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 El Segundo, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 34% of El Segundo’s workers
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles (29%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | El Segundo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Segundo | – | A | A+ | 24 min | $150,737 |
| Los Angeles | 29% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| Manhattan Beach | 3% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $204,306 |
| Del Aire | under 2% | A | A | 25 min | $141,533 |
| Hawthorne | 2% | B− | A | 28 min | $75,848 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of El Segundo’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 El Segundo: questions
What is the median household income in El Segundo?
$150,737 (±$11,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in El Segundo?
5.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from El Segundo?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in El Segundo work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (29%, 8 mi), Santa Monica (3%, 8 mi), Torrance (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is El Segundo walkable?
El Segundo is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around El Segundo 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 El Segundo, from the people who make the trip.
More of El Segundo
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.