Photo: Mike Greene · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in La Palma are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
La Palma grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The poverty rate is 5.0%; California has 12.0%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in La Palma: the gist
La Palma’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside La Palma is Los Angeles, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (754) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
La Palma draws workers from far and wide
The 5,314 jobs in La Palma are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 37%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Inside La Palma’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Palma is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #81 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($117,989, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Palma could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Short hops and long hauls from La Palma
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.
11% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where La Palma clocks in
6% 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.
Who works in La Palma, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,844 residents head out to work, 152 work right here, and 5,162 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in La Palma on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
66% of the jobs in La Palma pay over $3,333 a month
5,314 jobs are based in La Palma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Palma, 2013 → 2023: 6,777 → 5,314. 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 La Palma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Palma workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,203 commuters (the 16% 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.
La Palma is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Palma is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #444 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 7,369 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 7.2% of La Palma households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of La Palma’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000, La Palma ranks 455th of 2,362 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 453 | Mitchellville MD | 11,359 | $149K | 4.1% | 5.5% | 2% | A |
| 454 | Glenn Dale MD | 13,772 | $134K | 2.0% | 6.1% | 1% | A |
| 455 | La Palma CA | 14,907 | $118K | 5.0% | 3.9% | 2% | A |
| 456 | Wanaque NJ | 11,418 | $113K | 5.9% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 457 | Auburn MA | 17,566 | $117K | 5.2% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | 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 La Palma, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 10% of La Palma’s workers
The biggest share goes to Buena Park (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Palma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Palma | – | A | A− | 33 min | $117,989 |
| Buena Park | 4% | B+ | A | 29 min | $110,550 |
| Cerritos | 3% | A | A− | 32 min | $135,439 |
| Cypress | 3% | A− | A− | 29 min | $130,215 |
| Lakewood | under 3% | A | A− | 28 min | $119,177 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of La Palma’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 La Palma: questions
What is the median household income in La Palma?
$117,989 (±$17,295) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Palma?
5.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Palma?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Palma work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (11%, 24 mi), Anaheim (6%, 16 mi), Long Beach (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Palma walkable?
La Palma is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Palma without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Palma, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Palma
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.