Photo: User:Geographer · CC BY 2.5Households in Fullerton earn more than those in 80% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. 12.3% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Jobs and income earn Fullerton B+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fullerton at work: what stands out
Fullerton trades workers with the towns around it
Fullerton has about as many jobs (58,728) as working residents (60,273), but they are mostly different people: 54,030 residents leave for work each day while 52,485 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Fullerton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fullerton draws workers from far and wide
The 58,728 jobs in Fullerton are filled from a wide area. Fullerton’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 59% 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.
Jobs & income in Fullerton: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fullerton is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #352 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Fullerton’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fullerton could be anywhere from B to B+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 54,030 residents head out to work, 6,243 work right here, and 52,485 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 (0.97 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.
10% of working residents work in Anaheim
Where Fullerton clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
What Fullerton’s employers do
58,728 jobs are based in Fullerton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fullerton, 2013 → 2023: 52,122 → 58,728. 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 Fullerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Fullerton spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fullerton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 57,348 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where in the region Fullerton works
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Fullerton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fullerton is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #154 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.8% 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 67,365 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 5.3% of Fullerton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fullerton’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 261 U.S. towns of 97,000 to 187,000, Fullerton comes 112th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | San Mateo CA | 103,337 | $154K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Longmont CO | 100,109 | $91K | 8.6% | 4.8% | 26% | B+ |
| 111 | Jurupa Valley CA | 107,311 | $98K | 11.0% | 5.7% | 9% | B+ |
| 112 | Fullerton CA | 138,675 | $104K | 12.3% | 6.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 113 | Suffolk VA | 104,699 | $93K | 9.4% | 5.0% | 22% | B+ |
| 114 | Davie FL | 110,851 | $87K | 11.2% | 5.2% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 261 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Fullerton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Fullerton and its neighbors: 18% work next door
The biggest share goes to Anaheim (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fullerton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullerton | – | B+ | A | 31 min | $104,286 |
| Brea | 3% | A | A− | 31 min | $131,129 |
| Anaheim | 10% | B | A | 27 min | $95,227 |
| La Habra | under 2% | B | A | 31 min | $100,106 |
| Buena Park | 3% | B+ | A | 29 min | $110,550 |
| Placentia | 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $115,929 |
| La Mirada | under 2% | A | A | 32 min | $109,288 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fullerton’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 Fullerton: questions
What is the median household income in Fullerton?
$104,286 (±$3,310) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fullerton?
12.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fullerton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fullerton work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Anaheim (10%, 10 mi), Los Angeles (8%, 29 mi), Irvine (5%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fullerton walkable?
Fullerton is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fullerton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fullerton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fullerton
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.