Photo: w:en:David Jordan · CC BY-SA 3.0Earning a living in Mountain Mesa
About one in seven stay in Mountain Mesa for work; outside it, Bakersfield is the main destination (13%, 41 miles). 30% of workers work from home (California 17%). A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes, next to 29 for California and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Mountain Mesa, in brief
Mountain Mesa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Mountain Mesa is Bakersfield, 41 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (30) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Mountain Mesa
30% of Mountain Mesa workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
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; with 239 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Mountain Mesa
About 40% 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.
How long Mountain Mesa spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mountain Mesa workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 175 commuters (the 30% 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.
Mountain Mesa by day and by night
On a workday 206 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 367 people come in from elsewhere.
About 760 people are in Mountain Mesa on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 daily trip into Mountain Mesa
Where Mountain Mesa clocks in
13% 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.
Mountain Mesa is a services town
400 jobs are based in Mountain Mesa.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mountain Mesa, 2013 → 2023: 300 → 400. 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 Mesa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Mesa: questions
What is the median household income in Mountain Mesa?
$64,531 (±$16,791) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mountain Mesa?
16.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mountain Mesa?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mountain Mesa work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (13%, 41 mi), Weldon (8%, 5 mi), Lake Isabella (7%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mountain Mesa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mountain Mesa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mountain Mesa
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.