Photo: The original uploader was Estrategy at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Hermosa Beach earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Hermosa Beach grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability. Poverty touches 5.6% of residents, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Hermosa Beach stands out on work
Home offices are common in Hermosa Beach
37% of Hermosa Beach workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Hermosa Beach and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Hermosa Beach residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Hermosa Beach come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Hermosa Beach
78% of Hermosa Beach residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Hermosa Beach pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Hermosa Beach’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hermosa Beach is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #95 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Hermosa Beach’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hermosa Beach could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 29 minutes each way, about the CA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hermosa Beach workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,587 commuters (the 37% 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.
27% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Hermosa Beach clocks in
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 work there is in Hermosa Beach: 6,431 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hermosa Beach, 2013 → 2023: 4,893 → 6,431. 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 Hermosa Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Hermosa Beach
On a workday 7,387 residents head out to work, 512 work right here, and 5,919 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 (0.81 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.
How many miles Hermosa Beach commutes
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Hermosa Beach
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hermosa Beach is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #137 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.4% 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 10,374 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, 84% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 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). 5.2% of Hermosa Beach households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hermosa Beach’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Hermosa Beach is 415th among 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Coto de Caza CA | 15,190 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 413 | Vadnais Heights MN | 13,052 | $99K | 3.9% | 4.5% | 5% | A |
| 414 | Darien CT | 22,583 | $250K | 5.8% | 5.1% | 13% | A |
| 415 | Hermosa Beach CA | 18,513 | $166K | 5.6% | 5.4% | 6% | A |
| 416 | Mahomet Township IL | 14,687 | $116K | 3.3% | 3.3% | 12% | A |
| 417 | Ashland MA | 19,177 | $128K | 3.5% | 5.4% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Hermosa Beach, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Hermosa Beach
The biggest share goes to Manhattan Beach (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hermosa Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermosa Beach | – | A | A | 29 min | $166,442 |
| Manhattan Beach | 4% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $204,306 |
| Redondo Beach | 4% | A | A | 27 min | $150,245 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hermosa Beach’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 Hermosa Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Hermosa Beach?
$166,442 (±$23,214) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hermosa Beach?
5.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hermosa Beach?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hermosa Beach work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (27%, 10 mi), El Segundo (9%, 3 mi), Torrance (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hermosa Beach walkable?
Hermosa Beach is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 17.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hermosa Beach without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 84% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hermosa Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hermosa Beach
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.