Photo: Amin Eshaiker · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Placentia have higher incomes than those in 86% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles. The poverty rate is 7.9%, where California as a whole has 12.0%. Placentia grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How Placentia earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Placentia is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #178 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Placentia’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Placentia could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Placentia quiets down on a workday
On a workday 23,296 residents head out to work, 1,546 work right here, and 15,314 people come in from elsewhere.
About 47,000 people are in Placentia on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
12% of working residents work in Anaheim
Where Placentia clocks in
12% of workers
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.
What the 16,860 jobs in Placentia are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Placentia, 2013 → 2023: 16,254 → 16,860. 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 Placentia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Placentia: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Placentia workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,862 commuters (the 15% 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 far Placentia’s workers travel
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.
Placentia is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Placentia is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #361 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 25,840 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 20% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 2.9% of Placentia households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Placentia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Placentia is 289th among 834 U.S. towns of 38,000 to 74,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | West Chester Township OH | 67,165 | $110K | 7.4% | 4.7% | 14% | A− |
| 288 | Oak Park IL | 52,823 | $111K | 7.4% | 5.6% | 10% | A− |
| 289 | Placentia CA | 54,911 | $116K | 7.9% | 5.5% | 6% | A− |
| 290 | Walnut Creek CA | 70,012 | $130K | 6.4% | 6.0% | 12% | A− |
| 291 | Orland Park IL | 57,954 | $99K | 7.3% | 4.8% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 834 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Placentia, the top three, the last and three more from California.
21% of Placentia works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Anaheim (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Placentia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placentia | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $115,929 |
| Anaheim | 12% | B | A | 27 min | $95,227 |
| Yorba Linda | under 2% | A | B+ | 31 min | $157,582 |
| Fullerton | 5% | B+ | A | 31 min | $104,286 |
| Brea | 4% | A | A− | 31 min | $131,129 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Placentia’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 Placentia: questions
What is the median household income in Placentia?
$115,929 (±$6,317) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Placentia?
7.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Placentia?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Placentia work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Anaheim (12%, 6 mi), Los Angeles (7%, 33 mi), Irvine (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Placentia walkable?
Placentia is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Placentia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 20% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Placentia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Placentia
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.