Work and commuting in Thornton
Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers, where California as a whole has 17%. Only 2% work in Thornton itself; outside it, Lodi draws the most (9%, 10 miles). The average commute takes 32 minutes each way, next to 29 for California and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Thornton by day
On a workday 296 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 228 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 (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Thornton to work: where people go
Where Thornton clocks in
9% of workers
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.
In Thornton, 77% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
234 jobs are based in Thornton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thornton, 2014 → 2024: 54 → 234. 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 Thornton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thornton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 301 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.
How far Thornton’s workers travel
About 28% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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 Thornton: questions
What is the median household income in Thornton?
$73,333 (±$49,135) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thornton?
20.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thornton?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thornton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lodi (9%, 10 mi), Stockton (9%, 19 mi), San Francisco (3%, 63 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Thornton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thornton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thornton
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.