Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Mountain Center works elsewhere
Working from home is the commute for 25% of workers; California has 17%. Mountain Center has 4 jobs, against 18 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Mountain Center
On a workday 18 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 4 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31 people are in Mountain Center on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
33% of working residents work in Idyllwild-Pine Cove
Where Mountain Center clocks in
11% of workers
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.
Goods jobs make up 50% of work in Mountain Center
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mountain Center, 2013 → 2023: 28 → 4. 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 Mountain Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Mountain Center
of Mountain Center workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15 commuters (the 25% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Mountain Center
About 28% 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.
Bordering towns draw 33% of Mountain Center’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mountain Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Center | – | — | — | — | $46,875 |
| Idyllwild-Pine Cove | 33% | C− | A− | 23 min | $73,678 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Idyllwild-Pine Cove. Darker towns draw more of Mountain Center’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 Mountain Center: questions
What is the median household income in Mountain Center?
$46,875 (±$35,949) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mountain Center?
0.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Mountain Center work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Idyllwild-Pine Cove (33%, 2 mi), Yucaipa (11%, 29 mi), Culver City (6%, 98 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mountain Center without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mountain Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mountain Center
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.