Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station · Photo: Ellin Beltz · Public domainFairhaven draws 136 commuters a day, with 2.2 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Fairhaven report 137 jobs for 61 working residents. Only 2% stay in Fairhaven for work; outside it, Arcata is the main destination (31%, 8 miles). Home is the office for 38% of workers, against 17% across California.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Fairhaven: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 60 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 370 people are in Fairhaven on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Fairhaven: where workers come from
Where Fairhaven clocks in
31% of workers
25% 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.
Fairhaven works in goods: 89% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairhaven, 2013 → 2023: 99 → 137. 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 Fairhaven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 31 minutes from Fairhaven
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairhaven workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 85 commuters (the 38% 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 Fairhaven
About 15% 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.
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 Fairhaven: questions
What is the median household income in Fairhaven?
$81,328 (±$31,641) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairhaven?
9.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairhaven?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 38% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairhaven work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Arcata (31%, 8 mi), Eureka (25%, 3 mi), McKinleyville (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fairhaven without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairhaven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairhaven
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.