Running Springs has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
382 jobs are based in Running Springs, and 2,172 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Running Springs are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.4 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
Work in Running Springs, in a few figures
Running Springs’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Running Springs is Los Angeles, 76 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (223) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Running Springs workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
51% 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 ↓
Running Springs is a place people come home to
There are 382 jobs based in Running Springs, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Running Springs has about 3,100 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Running Springs
57% of Running Springs residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Running Springs pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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.
Jobs & income in Running Springs: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Running Springs is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #652 of 847 in California. Household income holds Running Springs’ grade up ($81,516, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.4%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Running Springs could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The commute from Running Springs, by distance
About 51% 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.
The daily trip from Running Springs: about 40 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Running Springs workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,713 commuters (the 17% 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 Running Springs by day
On a workday 2,068 residents head out to work, 104 work right here, and 278 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Running Springs on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
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 kinds of work in Running Springs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Running Springs, 2013 → 2023: 436 → 382. 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 Running Springs’s own residents hold wherever they work.
10% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Running Springs clocks in
6% 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.
Running Springs is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Running Springs is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #326 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Running Springs near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,060 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 7.3% of Running Springs households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Running Springs’ commuters take a bus or train.
Running Springs next to U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,600: 2,805th of 3,840 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,803 | Troy Township IN | 3,821 | $55K | 12.4% | 3.4% | 18% | C |
| 2,804 | East China Township MI | 3,661 | $72K | 9.2% | 9.1% | 4% | C |
| 2,805 | Running Springs CA | 4,917 | $82K | 15.5% | 7.4% | 5% | C |
| 2,806 | Watergate FL | 3,782 | $67K | 21.9% | 8.7% | 1% | C |
| 2,807 | Williamston SC | 4,338 | $64K | 13.5% | 7.9% | 8% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,840 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Running Springs, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Running Springs: questions
What is the median household income in Running Springs?
$81,516 (±$9,151) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Running Springs?
15.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Running Springs?
40 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Running Springs work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (10%, 76 mi), San Bernardino (6%, 12 mi), Lake Arrowhead (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Running Springs walkable?
Running Springs is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Running Springs without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Running Springs, from the people who make the trip.
More of Running Springs
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.