More people are out of work in Heber (7.8%) than in 87% of U.S. towns
Only 7% work in Heber; the top destination outside it is El Centro (26%, 4 miles). Heber grades C for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers; California has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Heber in brief
Heber makes and builds things
76% of the jobs based in Heber are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Heber residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 23%. The jobs ↓
Heber trades workers with the towns around it
Heber has about as many jobs (2,247) as working residents (2,448), but they are mostly different people: 2,272 residents leave for work each day while 2,071 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Heber are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Heber are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Heber
49% of Heber residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 26% of the jobs based in Heber pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Heber has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Heber went from 1,504 in 2013 to 2,247 in 2023, +49%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Heber
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Heber is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #623 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Heber’s grade up (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Heber could be anywhere from C− to B.
A place that makes things: 76% of Heber’s jobs are in goods
2,247 jobs are based in Heber.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Heber, 2013 → 2023: 1,504 → 2,247. 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 Heber’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Heber on a workday
On a workday 2,272 residents head out to work, 176 work right here, and 2,071 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 (0.92 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.
Time on the road from Heber: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Heber workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,898 commuters (the 5% 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.
Out of Heber to work: where people go
Where Heber clocks in
26% of workers
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.
Short hops and long hauls from Heber
About 32% 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.
Getting around Heber: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Heber is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns, #800 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Heber 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 3,052 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.8% of Heber households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Heber’s commuters take a bus or train.
Heber places 2,292nd of 3,154 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,290 | Newark NY | 8,919 | $60K | 22.2% | 3.0% | 25% | C |
| 2,291 | Ashland VA | 7,982 | $61K | 24.3% | 4.9% | 14% | C |
| 2,292 | Heber CA | 7,312 | $72K | 10.6% | 7.8% | 7% | C |
| 2,293 | Cherry Valley CA | 6,668 | $77K | 13.2% | 11.9% | 2% | C |
| 2,294 | Mount Sterling KY | 7,586 | $56K | 16.9% | 3.7% | 16% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Heber, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Heber: questions
What is the median household income in Heber?
$72,028 (±$11,357) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Heber?
10.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Heber?
20 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Heber work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are El Centro (26%, 4 mi), Calexico (10%, 4 mi), Brawley (5%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Heber walkable?
Heber is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Heber 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 Heber, from the people who make the trip.
More of Heber
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.