Photo: JMBeggs'nCali · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Ridgecrest (7.6%) than in 86% of U.S. towns
11% of workers have no commute at all; California has 17%. Ridgecrest grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About two in five stay in Ridgecrest for work; outside it, Los Angeles is the main destination (5%, 119 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ridgecrest: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Ridgecrest are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Ridgecrest go to people who live here
Of the 6,750 jobs based in Ridgecrest, 54% are held by Ridgecrest residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
49% 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 ↓
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.
Inside Ridgecrest’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ridgecrest is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #669 of 847 in California. Household income holds Ridgecrest’s grade up ($89,250, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ridgecrest could be anywhere from C− to C+.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridgecrest workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,063 commuters (the 11% 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.
In and out of Ridgecrest on a workday
On a workday 4,737 residents head out to work, 3,625 work right here, and 3,125 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 (0.81 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 commute from Ridgecrest, by distance
About 49% 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.
Where Ridgecrest’s working residents head each day
Where Ridgecrest clocks in
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.
Inside Ridgecrest’s 6,750 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridgecrest, 2013 → 2023: 5,720 → 6,750. 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 Ridgecrest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Ridgecrest, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ridgecrest is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #517 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% 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 12,429 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 18% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 6.8% of Ridgecrest households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ridgecrest’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Ridgecrest is 1,223rd of 1,409 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,221 | Ensley FL | 23,760 | $59K | 17.5% | 6.1% | 7% | C |
| 1,222 | Dania Beach FL | 32,791 | $53K | 19.3% | 8.3% | 7% | C |
| 1,223 | Ridgecrest CA | 28,333 | $89K | 12.5% | 7.6% | 43% | C |
| 1,224 | Port Angeles WA | 20,146 | $63K | 11.5% | 5.1% | 40% | C |
| 1,225 | Monroe MI | 20,076 | $60K | 19.2% | 7.3% | 17% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Ridgecrest, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Ridgecrest: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ridgecrest workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgecrest | – | C | B+ | 17 min | $89,250 |
| Ridgecrest Heights | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ridgecrest Heights: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ridgecrest’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 Ridgecrest: questions
What is the median household income in Ridgecrest?
$89,250 (±$8,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridgecrest?
12.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridgecrest?
17 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridgecrest work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (5%, 119 mi), Bakersfield (5%, 80 mi), Searles Valley (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ridgecrest walkable?
Ridgecrest is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ridgecrest without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridgecrest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridgecrest
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.