Photo: Branden Pinney · Public domainHousehold incomes in Ladera Ranch are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
For 28% of workers, the job is at home, next to 17% for California as a whole. The poverty rate is 4.2%, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Ladera Ranch grades A for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Ladera Ranch: the gist
A lot of Ladera Ranch works from home
28% of Ladera Ranch workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Ladera Ranch has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ladera Ranch went from 2,362 in 2013 to 3,468 in 2023, +47%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Ladera Ranch
74% of Ladera Ranch residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 55% of the jobs based in Ladera Ranch pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Ladera Ranch’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ladera Ranch is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #54 of 847 in California. Household income holds Ladera Ranch’s grade up ($184,458, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, 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, Ladera Ranch could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting from Ladera Ranch: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ladera Ranch workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,239 commuters (the 28% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
3,468 jobs are based in Ladera Ranch.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ladera Ranch, 2013 → 2023: 2,362 → 3,468. 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 Ladera Ranch’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Ladera Ranch: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 10,154 residents head out to work, 450 work right here, and 3,018 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Ladera Ranch on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.33 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
16% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Ladera Ranch clocks in
16% 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.
How far Ladera Ranch’s workers travel
About 17% 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.
Getting around Ladera Ranch: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ladera Ranch is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #539 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 11,430 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 40% 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). 0.6% of Ladera Ranch households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ladera Ranch’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ladera Ranch is 250th of 1,577 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 32,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | Wakefield MA | 29,234 | $134K | 4.9% | 4.4% | 9% | A |
| 249 | Springfield Township PA | 21,030 | $136K | 4.1% | 4.8% | 7% | A |
| 250 | Ladera Ranch CA | 23,793 | $184K | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4% | A |
| 251 | Brookfield CT | 18,566 | $148K | 4.1% | 3.5% | 14% | A |
| 252 | Acton MA | 24,786 | $158K | 3.4% | 4.7% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,577 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Ladera Ranch, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work in the towns next to Ladera Ranch
The biggest share goes to Mission Viejo (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ladera Ranch workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladera Ranch | – | A | B+ | 27 min | $184,458 |
| San Juan Capistrano | 3% | A | A | 27 min | $129,457 |
| Las Flores | under 3% | A+ | C | 26 min | $211,782 |
| Rancho Mission Viejo | under 3% | A | C+ | 29 min | $192,813 |
| Mission Viejo | 5% | A | A− | 27 min | $136,123 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ladera Ranch’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 Ladera Ranch: questions
What is the median household income in Ladera Ranch?
$184,458 (±$25,908) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ladera Ranch?
4.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ladera Ranch?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ladera Ranch work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (16%, 12 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 55 mi), Mission Viejo (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ladera Ranch walkable?
Ladera Ranch is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ladera Ranch without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ladera Ranch, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ladera Ranch
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.