Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0At 8.3%, unemployment in Glendale is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Glendale are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles. About one in five work in Glendale itself; outside it, Los Angeles draws the most (37%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Glendale apart on work
Much of Glendale works one town over
49% of working residents work in a town that borders Glendale: Los Angeles (37%), Burbank (8%) and Pasadena (4%). Next door ↓
Glendale trades workers with the towns around it
Glendale has about as many jobs (90,472) as working residents (80,273), but they are mostly different people: 64,068 residents leave for work each day while 74,267 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Glendale are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Glendale’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Glendale is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #465 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Glendale’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, Glendale could be anywhere from B− to B.
Glendale on a workday afternoon
On a workday 64,068 residents head out to work, 16,205 work right here, and 74,267 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 (1.13 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 Glendale goes to work
Where Glendale 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.
What work there is in Glendale: 90,472 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Glendale, 2013 → 2023: 80,777 → 90,472. 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 Glendale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Glendale spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Glendale workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 70,739 commuters (the 21% 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.
Miles to work from Glendale
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: Glendale
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Glendale is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #118 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Glendale 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 89,803 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 88% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 10.3% of Glendale households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Glendale’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Ranked on jobs and income, Glendale is 79th among 152 U.S. towns of 131,000 to 253,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Fremont CA | 226,442 | $182K | 5.2% | 4.7% | 17% | A |
| 10 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Santa Clara CA | 133,446 | $179K | 8.4% | 5.1% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Moreno Valley CA | 214,263 | $93K | 11.7% | 7.1% | 15% | B |
| 78 | Huntsville AL | 233,627 | $75K | 12.6% | 4.1% | 66% | B |
| 79 | Glendale CA | 187,160 | $88K | 12.9% | 8.3% | 20% | B− |
| 80 | Mesquite TX | 150,693 | $73K | 13.4% | 5.4% | 12% | B− |
| 81 | Yonkers NY | 212,603 | $84K | 13.8% | 7.1% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | 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 Glendale, the top three, the last and three more from California.
49% of Glendale works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Glendale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glendale | – | B− | A | 27 min | $88,393 |
| La Crescenta-Montrose | under 1% | A− | B+ | 29 min | $130,000 |
| Los Angeles | 37% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| La Cañada Flintridge | under 1% | A | A− | 30 min | $241,875 |
| Burbank | 8% | B | A | 26 min | $97,082 |
| Pasadena | 4% | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $105,192 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles. Darker towns draw more of Glendale’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 Glendale: questions
What is the median household income in Glendale?
$88,393 (±$2,568) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Glendale?
12.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Glendale?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Glendale work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (37%, 15 mi), Burbank (8%, 5 mi), Pasadena (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Glendale walkable?
Glendale is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Glendale without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Glendale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Glendale
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.