Photo: Los Angeles · CC BY-SA 4.0La Puente has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. Employers in La Puente report 5,099 jobs, against 15,787 working residents. The two grades for La Puente are B for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
La Puente and work: the main findings
La Puente’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside La Puente is Los Angeles, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (2,169) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Few La Puente workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside La Puente
58% of La Puente residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in La Puente pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
La Puente draws workers from far and wide
The 5,099 jobs in La Puente are filled from a wide area. La Puente’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; 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.
Income, poverty and work: La Puente’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Puente is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #395 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds La Puente’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Puente could be anywhere from B− to B+.
How many miles La Puente 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.
From La Puente, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Puente workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,891 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.
The kinds of work in La Puente
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Puente, 2013 → 2023: 4,553 → 5,099. 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 Puente’s own residents hold wherever they work.
14% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where La Puente clocks in
9% of workers
3% 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.
La Puente on a workday afternoon
On a workday 15,235 residents head out to work, 552 work right here, and 4,547 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in La Puente on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
In La Puente, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Puente is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #259 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.1% 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 17,672 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, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 4.8% of La Puente households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of La Puente’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 25,000 to 49,000, La Puente ranks 723rd of 1,239 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 721 | Salem MA | 45,381 | $85K | 12.1% | 5.1% | 17% | B |
| 722 | Fairfield OH | 44,682 | $78K | 8.4% | 5.5% | 14% | B |
| 723 | La Puente CA | 36,423 | $87K | 11.3% | 6.2% | 3% | B |
| 724 | New Windsor NY | 27,844 | $95K | 5.4% | 8.9% | 10% | B |
| 725 | Linden NJ | 45,752 | $93K | 9.6% | 9.5% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,239 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Puente, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 12% of La Puente
The biggest share goes to Industry (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Puente workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Puente | – | B | A | 31 min | $86,602 |
| Industry | 9% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| West Puente Valley | under 2% | B | A | 32 min | $88,279 |
| Valinda | under 2% | A− | A− | 30 min | $100,165 |
| West Covina | 3% | B+ | A− | 33 min | $101,065 |
Same-state neighbors only. Industry: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of La Puente’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 Puente: questions
What is the median household income in La Puente?
$86,602 (±$6,387) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Puente?
11.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Puente?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Puente work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (14%, 26 mi), Industry (9%, 1 mi), West Covina (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Puente walkable?
La Puente is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Puente without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Puente, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Puente
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.