Photo: Telecineguy · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Sierra Madre top those of 94% of U.S. towns
Sierra Madre grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 4.6% of residents; California has 12.0%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Sierra Madre apart
Sierra Madre’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Sierra Madre is Los Angeles, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (1,188) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Sierra Madre has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Sierra Madre went from 1,719 in 2014 to 2,510 in 2024, +46%. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Sierra Madre is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
The four measures behind Sierra Madre’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sierra Madre is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #7 of 847 in California. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sierra Madre could be anywhere from A to A+.
Short hops and long hauls from Sierra Madre
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Sierra Madre
2,510 jobs are based in Sierra Madre.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sierra Madre, 2014 → 2024: 1,719 → 2,510. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sierra Madre’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Sierra Madre on a workday
On a workday 4,458 residents head out to work, 272 work right here, and 2,238 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Sierra Madre on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.53 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 2024, primary jobs.
25% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Sierra Madre clocks in
14% 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.
From Sierra Madre, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sierra Madre workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,475 commuters (the 24% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Sierra Madre
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sierra Madre is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #235 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Sierra Madre 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 5,912 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 3.8% of Sierra Madre households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Sierra Madre’s commuters take a bus or train.
89th of 2,878: where Sierra Madre ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 11% | A+ |
| 88 | Paradise Valley AZ | 12,251 | $247K | 5.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 89 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 90 | Plymouth MI | 9,164 | $112K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| 91 | Upper Makefield Township PA | 8,848 | $213K | 2.1% | 3.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | East Whittier CA | 9,990 | $114K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Sierra Madre, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 17% of Sierra Madre
The biggest share goes to Pasadena (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sierra Madre workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Madre | – | A+ | A | 28 min | $143,547 |
| Arcadia | 3% | A− | A | 29 min | $113,516 |
| Pasadena | 14% | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $105,192 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sierra Madre’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 2024, 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 Sierra Madre: questions
What is the median household income in Sierra Madre?
$143,547 (±$11,758) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sierra Madre?
4.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sierra Madre?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sierra Madre work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (25%, 23 mi), Pasadena (14%, 5 mi), Burbank (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Sierra Madre walkable?
Sierra Madre is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sierra Madre without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sierra Madre, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sierra Madre
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.