Photo: Jey0h · CC BY 3.0Most of Inyokern commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Inyokern report 82 jobs for 228 working residents. Only 3% work in Inyokern itself; outside it, Ridgecrest draws the most (28%, 9 miles). Home is the office for 4% of workers (California 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Inyokern: the figures worth knowing
A big share show a job far from home
61% 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 ↓
Inyokern and Ridgecrest trade workers both ways
Ridgecrest is the top workplace for Inyokern residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Inyokern come from (45% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Inyokern 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 ↓
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; with 228 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Inyokern’s workers travel
About 61% 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 employ Inyokern’s residents
Where Inyokern clocks in
28% of workers
8% 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Inyokern workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 305 commuters (the 4% 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.
Inyokern on a workday afternoon
On a workday 222 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 76 people come in from elsewhere.
About 770 people are in Inyokern on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Inyokern
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Inyokern, 2013 → 2023: 86 → 82. 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 Inyokern’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Next door to Inyokern
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Inyokern workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inyokern | – | — | — | 20 min | — |
| China Lake Acres | under 2% | C− | D− | 22 min | $68,594 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Inyokern’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 Inyokern: questions
What is the poverty rate in Inyokern?
22.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Inyokern?
20 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Inyokern work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ridgecrest (28%, 9 mi), Bakersfield (8%, 72 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 118 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Inyokern without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Inyokern, from the people who make the trip.
More of Inyokern
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.