Photo: Rneches · CC BY 2.5Households in Topanga have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Topanga A−; getting around on foot earns it B. 6.0% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. Home is the office for 41% of workers, against 17% across California.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Topanga apart on work
A lot of Topanga works from home
41% of Topanga workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Topanga and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Topanga residents (41%) and also where the most people who work in Topanga come from (47% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Topanga’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Topanga is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #192 of 847 in California. Household income holds Topanga’s grade up ($157,045, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Topanga could be anywhere from B to A+.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Topanga
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Topanga workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,433 commuters (the 41% 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.
The towns that employ Topanga’s residents
Where Topanga 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.
The daily flow of workers through Topanga
On a workday 2,949 residents head out to work, 155 work right here, and 1,045 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,000 people are in Topanga on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.39 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 2023, primary jobs.
What the 1,200 jobs in Topanga are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Topanga, 2013 → 2023: 986 → 1,200. 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 Topanga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Topanga
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.
For most of Topanga, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Topanga is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #666 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Topanga 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 4,100 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 0.8% of Topanga households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Topanga’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Topanga is 878th of 2,907 U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 876 | Lake Grove NY | 11,168 | $118K | 8.1% | 5.2% | 3% | A− |
| 877 | Addison Township MI | 6,321 | $111K | 5.2% | 4.5% | 4% | A− |
| 878 | Topanga CA | 8,885 | $157K | 6.0% | 7.1% | 5% | A− |
| 879 | Crete IL | 8,345 | $97K | 3.9% | 6.0% | 5% | A− |
| 880 | Lanham MD | 11,433 | $104K | 7.3% | 5.4% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Topanga, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bordering towns draw 43% of Topanga’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Topanga workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topanga | – | A− | B | 29 min | $157,045 |
| Calabasas | 2% | B+ | B+ | 34 min | $165,288 |
| Los Angeles | 41% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| Malibu | under 2% | B | A− | 32 min | $194,421 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles. Darker towns draw more of Topanga’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 Topanga: questions
What is the median household income in Topanga?
$157,045 (±$40,790) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Topanga?
6.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Topanga?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 41% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Topanga work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (41%, 12 mi), Burbank (8%, 17 mi), Santa Monica (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Topanga walkable?
Topanga is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Topanga without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Topanga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Topanga
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.