Photo: Patrick Pelster · CC BY-SA 3.0Indian Wells has higher household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 3.2% of residents; California has 12.0%. Indian Wells grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 4.3 in Riverside.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Indian Wells stands out on work
A lot of Indian Wells works from home
36% of Indian Wells workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Indian Wells is where the jobs are
Indian Wells has 3,543 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,100 people are in town, 43% more than the 5,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Indian Wells are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Indian Wells is services
94% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 0% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Indian Wells
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Indian Wells is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #196 of 847 in California. Household income holds Indian Wells’ grade up ($162,990, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.1%, 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, Indian Wells could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
A commute of about 19 minutes in Indian Wells
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Indian Wells workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,023 commuters (the 36% 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.
Indian Wells by day and by night
On a workday 1,343 residents head out to work, 76 work right here, and 3,467 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,100 people are in Indian Wells on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Services make up most of the work in Indian Wells
3,543 jobs are based in Indian Wells.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Indian Wells, 2013 → 2023: 3,745 → 3,543. 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 Indian Wells’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Indian Wells, by distance
About 41% 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.
The towns that send workers to Indian Wells
Where Indian Wells clocks in
19% of workers
8% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Indian Wells
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Indian Wells is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #120 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Indian Wells 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 1,592 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% 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 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 3.1% of Indian Wells households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Indian Wells’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700, Indian Wells comes 897th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 895 | Harvest AL | 5,955 | $102K | 11.3% | 1.7% | 1% | A− |
| 896 | Brisbane CA | 4,656 | $156K | 5.5% | 8.7% | 6% | A− |
| 897 | Indian Wells CA | 4,992 | $163K | 3.2% | 6.1% | 5% | A− |
| 898 | Canterbury CT | 5,251 | $103K | 4.9% | 2.5% | 9% | A− |
| 899 | Frankenlust Township MI | 3,684 | $93K | 5.8% | 3.4% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Indian Wells, the top three, the last and three more from California.
24% of Indian Wells works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Palm Desert (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Indian Wells workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Wells | – | A− | A | 19 min | $162,990 |
| Palm Desert | 19% | B− | B+ | 21 min | $77,513 |
| La Quinta | 5% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $99,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Indian Wells’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 Indian Wells: questions
What is the median household income in Indian Wells?
$162,990 (±$23,773) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Indian Wells?
3.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Indian Wells?
19 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Indian Wells work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Palm Desert (19%, 3 mi), Rancho Mirage (8%, 7 mi), La Quinta (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Indian Wells walkable?
Indian Wells is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Indian Wells without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Indian Wells, from the people who make the trip.
More of Indian Wells
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.