Photo: FASTILY · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Lawndale (9.7%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
7% of workers work from home; California has 17%. Lawndale grades B− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Lawndale itself; outside it, Los Angeles draws the most (27%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lawndale apart
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lawndale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lawndale is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #495 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Lawndale’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lawndale could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Out of Lawndale to work: where people go
Where Lawndale clocks in
7% 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 leaves Lawndale for work, and who comes in
On a workday 13,002 residents head out to work, 588 work right here, and 4,959 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Lawndale on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
The 5,547 jobs based in Lawndale
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawndale, 2013 → 2023: 4,935 → 5,547. 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 Lawndale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lawndale’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawndale workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,170 commuters (the 7% 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.
Lawndale’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Lawndale is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.2% 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 15,273 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, 84% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 6.1% of Lawndale households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lawndale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000, Lawndale ranks 915th of 1,366 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 913 | Lakeside FL | 32,105 | $82K | 8.9% | 6.7% | 6% | B− |
| 914 | Forest Grove OR | 27,252 | $88K | 15.4% | 4.3% | 16% | B− |
| 915 | Lawndale CA | 29,892 | $85K | 13.0% | 9.7% | 4% | B− |
| 916 | Vernon CT | 30,842 | $85K | 13.4% | 6.6% | 10% | B− |
| 917 | Columbus NE | 25,248 | $65K | 11.3% | 2.4% | 49% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Lawndale, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Lawndale’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lawndale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawndale | – | B− | A+ | 25 min | $85,441 |
| Hawthorne | 4% | B− | A | 28 min | $75,848 |
| Torrance | 7% | A− | A− | 27 min | $116,217 |
| Redondo Beach | 4% | A | A | 27 min | $150,245 |
| Alondra Park | under 3% | B | A+ | 27 min | $87,169 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Torrance. Darker towns draw more of Lawndale’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 Lawndale: questions
What is the median household income in Lawndale?
$85,441 (±$4,897) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawndale?
13.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawndale?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawndale work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (27%, 10 mi), Torrance (7%, 4 mi), El Segundo (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lawndale walkable?
Lawndale is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lawndale without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 84% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lawndale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lawndale
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.