Errea House · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Unemployment in Tehachapi (6.4%) is higher than in 78% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Tehachapi; the top destination outside it is Bakersfield (9%, 36 miles). Tehachapi grades C− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. For 7% of workers, the job is at home, against 17% across California.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Tehachapi stands out on work
Jobs in Tehachapi have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Tehachapi went from 2,294 in 2013 to 4,757 in 2023, +107%. The jobs ↓
Tehachapi’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Tehachapi is Bakersfield, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (320) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Tehachapi’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tehachapi is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #715 of 847 in California. Household income holds Tehachapi’s grade up ($72,957, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tehachapi could be anywhere from D to B−.
65% of the jobs in Tehachapi pay over $3,333 a month
4,757 jobs are based in Tehachapi.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tehachapi, 2013 → 2023: 2,294 → 4,757. 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 Tehachapi’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Tehachapi commutes
About 39% 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.
Who leaves Tehachapi for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,729 residents head out to work, 763 work right here, and 3,994 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Tehachapi on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 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.
Where the trip to work from Tehachapi ends
Where Tehachapi clocks in
9% 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.
Getting to work from Tehachapi takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tehachapi workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,118 commuters (the 7% 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.
Driving is how Tehachapi gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tehachapi is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #739 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Tehachapi 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 3,360 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 11% 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). 2.1% of Tehachapi households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tehachapi’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Tehachapi is 2,336th among 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,334 | Navasota TX | 9,904 | $51K | 14.2% | 7.2% | 14% | C− |
| 2,335 | Cusseta GA | 8,465 | $61K | 13.9% | 9.1% | 9% | C− |
| 2,336 | Tehachapi CA | 11,852 | $73K | 13.9% | 6.4% | 22% | C− |
| 2,337 | Denison IA | 8,214 | $66K | 17.5% | 5.4% | 53% | C− |
| 2,338 | Miami OK | 12,893 | $46K | 22.6% | 3.0% | 35% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Tehachapi, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Tehachapi: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Golden Hills (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tehachapi workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tehachapi | – | C− | C+ | 27 min | $72,957 |
| Golden Hills | 4% | C− | C− | 33 min | $95,669 |
| Bear Valley Springs | 1% | B | C− | 42 min | $120,481 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Tehachapi’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 Tehachapi: questions
What is the median household income in Tehachapi?
$72,957 (±$12,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tehachapi?
13.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tehachapi?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tehachapi work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bakersfield (9%, 36 mi), Los Angeles (6%, 78 mi), Golden Hills (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tehachapi walkable?
Tehachapi is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tehachapi without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tehachapi, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tehachapi
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.