Photo: Thurifer · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Torrance top those of 87% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles. The poverty rate is 7.8%; California has 12.0%. For jobs and income Torrance is better than 77% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Torrance, in brief
Torrance and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Torrance residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Torrance come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Torrance gains people on a workday
About 166,000 people are in Torrance on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 138,000 who live here: 78,000 come in to work and 50,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Torrance’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Torrance’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Torrance could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
22% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Torrance clocks in
4% 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.
A workday in Torrance: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 50,257 residents head out to work, 11,028 work right here, and 78,164 people come in from elsewhere.
About 166,000 people are in Torrance on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 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.
The 89,192 jobs based in Torrance
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Torrance, 2013 → 2023: 93,239 → 89,192. 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 Torrance’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Torrance: 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 Torrance workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 53,276 commuters (the 21% 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 it is to work from Torrance
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Torrance
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 67,292 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 4.9% of Torrance households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Torrance’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Torrance is 59th of 261 U.S. towns of 97,000 to 187,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | San Mateo CA | 103,337 | $154K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Lewisville TX | 139,006 | $89K | 7.9% | 4.3% | 9% | A− |
| 58 | Hanover Township IL | 97,956 | $100K | 9.9% | 4.0% | 5% | A− |
| 59 | Torrance CA | 138,391 | $116K | 7.8% | 6.0% | 18% | A− |
| 60 | Amherst NY | 130,442 | $93K | 10.1% | 3.3% | 30% | A− |
| 61 | Renton WA | 104,975 | $100K | 8.1% | 4.9% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 261 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Torrance, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 28% of Torrance’s workers
The biggest share goes to Los Angeles (22%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Torrance workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torrance | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $116,217 |
| Redondo Beach | 4% | A | A | 27 min | $150,245 |
| Rolling Hills Estates | under 2% | A | B+ | 27 min | $191,895 |
| Lomita | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 26 min | $93,810 |
| Lawndale | under 2% | B− | A+ | 25 min | $85,441 |
| Los Angeles | 22% | B− | A+ | 31 min | $81,939 |
| Gardena | 2% | B | A | 29 min | $84,803 |
| Palos Verdes Estates | under 2% | A | B+ | 32 min | $242,014 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Torrance’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 Torrance: questions
What is the median household income in Torrance?
$116,217 (±$5,160) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Torrance?
7.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Torrance?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Torrance work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (22%, 13 mi), El Segundo (6%, 7 mi), Redondo Beach (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Torrance walkable?
Torrance is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Torrance without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Torrance, from the people who make the trip.
More of Torrance
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.