Photo: Biff.Martin · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Laguna Niguel earn more than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. 6.4% of residents are in poverty, against 12.0% across California. Jobs and income earn Laguna Niguel A−; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Laguna Niguel and work: the main findings
Home offices are common in Laguna Niguel
27% of Laguna Niguel workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Laguna Niguel draws workers from far and wide
The 13,451 jobs in Laguna Niguel are filled from a wide area. Laguna Niguel’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 56% 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Laguna Niguel
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Laguna Niguel is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #219 of 847 in California. Household income holds Laguna Niguel’s grade up ($140,452, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.1%, 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, Laguna Niguel could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Laguna Niguel
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laguna Niguel workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,848 commuters (the 27% 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.
15% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Laguna Niguel clocks in
15% 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 many people are in Laguna Niguel by day
On a workday 23,244 residents head out to work, 1,692 work right here, and 11,759 people come in from elsewhere.
About 53,000 people are in Laguna Niguel on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.54 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 2024, primary jobs.
The 13,451 jobs based in Laguna Niguel
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laguna Niguel, 2014 → 2024: 15,168 → 13,451. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Laguna Niguel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Laguna Niguel’s workers travel
About 18% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Laguna Niguel is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Laguna Niguel is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #403 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% 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 32,600 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 63% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 2.4% of Laguna Niguel households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Laguna Niguel’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 45,000 to 87,000, Laguna Niguel ranks 259th of 698 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 257 | Bloomfield Township NJ | 56,375 | $104K | 8.6% | 5.3% | 6% | A− |
| 258 | Marana AZ | 65,523 | $113K | 4.9% | 4.5% | 12% | A− |
| 259 | Laguna Niguel CA | 64,107 | $140K | 6.4% | 7.1% | 7% | A− |
| 260 | Peabody MA | 55,953 | $97K | 7.7% | 4.9% | 13% | A− |
| 261 | Arcadia CA | 54,117 | $114K | 8.6% | 5.7% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 698 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 27% | 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 Laguna Niguel, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 14% of Laguna Niguel
The biggest share goes to Mission Viejo (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Laguna Niguel workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna Niguel | – | A− | A− | 26 min | $140,452 |
| San Juan Capistrano | 3% | A | A | 27 min | $129,457 |
| Laguna Beach | under 3% | A− | A | 29 min | $143,843 |
| Dana Point | 3% | A | A | 30 min | $141,520 |
| Laguna Hills | under 3% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $128,851 |
| Aliso Viejo | 3% | A | B+ | 25 min | $142,439 |
| 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 Laguna Niguel’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 2024, 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 Laguna Niguel: questions
What is the median household income in Laguna Niguel?
$140,452 (±$6,981) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laguna Niguel?
6.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laguna Niguel?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laguna Niguel work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (15%, 11 mi), Los Angeles (6%, 53 mi), Newport Beach (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Laguna Niguel walkable?
Laguna Niguel is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Laguna Niguel without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laguna Niguel, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laguna Niguel
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.