Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Fountain Valley top those of 86% of U.S. towns
Fountain Valley grades B+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 8.0% of residents, next to 12.0% across California. About one in ten work in Fountain Valley; the top destination outside it is Irvine (10%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Fountain Valley: the gist
Income, poverty and work: Fountain Valley’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fountain Valley is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #253 of 847 in California. Household income holds Fountain Valley’s grade up ($115,237, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fountain Valley could be anywhere from B to A−.
Who works in Fountain Valley, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 22,689 residents head out to work, 2,053 work right here, and 26,163 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 (1.14 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.
Where the trip to work from Fountain Valley ends
Where Fountain Valley clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
65% of the jobs in Fountain Valley pay over $3,333 a month
28,216 jobs are based in Fountain Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fountain Valley, 2013 → 2023: 27,446 → 28,216. 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 Fountain Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Fountain Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fountain Valley workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,005 commuters (the 17% 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.
The commute from Fountain Valley, by distance
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.
Few in Fountain Valley walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fountain Valley is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #509 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 26,395 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, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 5.0% of Fountain Valley households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fountain Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fountain Valley ranks: 335th of 786 U.S. towns of 39,000 to 75,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 333 | Maplewood MN | 40,717 | $91K | 11.2% | 4.0% | 5% | B+ |
| 334 | Petaluma CA | 59,688 | $115K | 6.5% | 4.6% | 23% | B+ |
| 335 | Fountain Valley CA | 55,508 | $115K | 8.0% | 5.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 336 | Bolingbrook IL | 74,803 | $108K | 9.2% | 5.7% | 11% | B+ |
| 337 | Hacienda Heights CA | 54,291 | $109K | 11.3% | 5.1% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 786 | 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 Fountain Valley, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 18% of Fountain Valley
The biggest share goes to Santa Ana (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fountain Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Valley | – | B+ | B+ | 26 min | $115,237 |
| Westminster | under 4% | B− | A | 27 min | $85,541 |
| Santa Ana | 8% | B+ | A | 25 min | $93,999 |
| Huntington Beach | 6% | B+ | A | 28 min | $120,919 |
| Garden Grove | 4% | B | A− | 29 min | $92,174 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fountain Valley’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 Fountain Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Fountain Valley?
$115,237 (±$8,309) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fountain Valley?
8.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fountain Valley?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fountain Valley work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (10%, 11 mi), Santa Ana (8%, 4 mi), Huntington Beach (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fountain Valley walkable?
Fountain Valley is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fountain Valley without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fountain Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fountain Valley
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.