Photo: Originally uploaded by Rockero (Transferred by JaumeBG) · Public domainMore people are out of work in Ontario (6.3%) than in 77% of U.S. towns
9% of workers have no commute at all, where California as a whole has 17%. Ontario grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.3 in Riverside.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Ontario
Ontario is where the jobs are
Ontario has 125,911 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Ontario’s commute
The biggest draw, Los Angeles, gets only 7% of working residents, and 52% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Ontario residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Ontario draws workers from far and wide
The 125,911 jobs in Ontario are filled from a wide area. Ontario’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Ontario are in trade, transport and utilities, against 28% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Ontario has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ontario went from 92,370 in 2013 to 125,911 in 2023, +36%. 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.
Ontario’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ontario is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #427 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Ontario’s grade up (ahead of 92% of 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, Ontario could be anywhere from B− to B.
In and out of Ontario on a workday
On a workday 61,469 residents head out to work, 11,080 work right here, and 114,831 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240,000 people are in Ontario on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
Where the people who work in Ontario live
Where Ontario clocks in
5% 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.
What Ontario’s employers do
125,911 jobs are based in Ontario.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ontario, 2013 → 2023: 92,370 → 125,911. 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 Ontario’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 32 minutes each way for Ontario’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ontario workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 77,889 commuters (the 9% 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.
Where in the region Ontario works
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Ontario
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ontario is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #440 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 85,729 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 4.0% of Ontario households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ontario’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ontario is 69th among 152 U.S. towns of 131,000 to 252,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Fremont CA | 226,442 | $182K | 5.2% | 4.7% | 17% | A |
| 10 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Santa Clara CA | 133,446 | $179K | 8.4% | 5.1% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Vancouver WA | 199,698 | $81K | 10.2% | 5.7% | 35% | B |
| 68 | Metairie LA | 139,729 | $73K | 12.5% | 4.6% | 25% | B |
| 69 | Ontario CA | 187,013 | $89K | 12.4% | 6.3% | 15% | B |
| 70 | Oxnard CA | 199,651 | $96K | 11.0% | 6.5% | 27% | B |
| 71 | Sterling Heights MI | 133,931 | $80K | 11.1% | 6.1% | 12% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Ontario, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Ontario and its neighbors: 14% work next door
The biggest share goes to Chino (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ontario workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | – | B | A− | 32 min | $88,941 |
| Chino | 5% | B+ | B+ | 33 min | $104,682 |
| Eastvale | under 3% | A | B | 37 min | $160,069 |
| Rancho Cucamonga | 5% | B+ | B+ | 32 min | $111,895 |
| Upland | 2% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $105,830 |
| Fontana | 2% | B+ | A− | 33 min | $102,821 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ontario’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 Ontario: questions
What is the median household income in Ontario?
$88,941 (±$4,081) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ontario?
12.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ontario?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ontario work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (7%, 46 mi), Rancho Cucamonga (5%, 7 mi), Chino (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ontario walkable?
Ontario is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ontario without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ontario, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ontario
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.