Photo: Dysepsion · CC BY-SA 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in Pala
Working residents average 23 minutes each way, where California has 29 and the U.S. 26. For 4% of workers, the job is at home, next to 17% for California as a whole. Only 4% stay in Pala for work; outside it, San Diego is the main destination (14%, 37 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Pala in brief
Pala’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pala is San Diego, 37 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (50) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Pala are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. 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 359 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Pala’s commute, mile by mile
About 26% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pala workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 254 commuters (the 5% 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.
How many people are in Pala by day
On a workday 345 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 406 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).
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 places Pala commutes to
Where Pala clocks in
14% of workers
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.
In Pala, services account for most jobs
420 jobs are based in Pala.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pala, 2013 → 2023: 341 → 420. 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 Pala’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 Pala: questions
What is the median household income in Pala?
$106,250 (±$16,121) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pala?
12.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pala?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pala work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (14%, 37 mi), Escondido (5%, 16 mi), Oceanside (5%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pala without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pala, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pala
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.