Photo: Lordkinbote at English Wikipedia (Robert A. Estremo) · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Tustin are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
9.9% of residents are in poverty, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Tustin grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Tustin in brief
A lot of Tustin works one town over
31% of working residents work in a town that borders Tustin: Irvine (17%), Santa Ana (9%) and Orange (5%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Tustin are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Tustin has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Tustin went from 35,555 in 2013 to 51,031 in 2023, +44%. The jobs ↓
Tustin draws workers from far and wide
The 51,031 jobs in Tustin are filled from a wide area. Tustin’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Tustin’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tustin is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #230 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Tustin’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tustin could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Tustin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tustin workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 33,092 commuters (the 19% 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.
Inside Tustin’s 51,031 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tustin, 2013 → 2023: 35,555 → 51,031. 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 Tustin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
17% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Tustin clocks in
17% 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.
Who commutes out of Tustin, and who commutes in
On a workday 34,520 residents head out to work, 2,676 work right here, and 48,355 people come in from elsewhere.
About 92,000 people are in Tustin on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Tustin
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.
Tustin is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tustin is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #366 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% 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 40,977 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 4.3% of Tustin households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Tustin’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Tustin ranks: 209th of 580 U.S. towns of 54,000 to 105,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 207 | Nashua NH | 92,435 | $96K | 7.8% | 4.2% | 29% | A− |
| 208 | Plantation FL | 99,183 | $93K | 10.0% | 4.0% | 10% | A− |
| 209 | Tustin CA | 77,843 | $113K | 9.9% | 5.4% | 7% | B+ |
| 210 | Kendall FL | 79,562 | $87K | 11.2% | 3.3% | 11% | B+ |
| 211 | Wellington FL | 62,662 | $116K | 7.8% | 4.7% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 580 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Tustin, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Tustin and its neighbors: 31% work next door
The biggest share goes to Irvine (17%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tustin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tustin | – | B+ | A− | 23 min | $112,503 |
| North Tustin | under 2% | A | A− | 23 min | $177,351 |
| Santa Ana | 9% | B+ | A | 25 min | $93,999 |
| Irvine | 17% | B+ | A | 25 min | $136,719 |
| Orange | 5% | A− | A | 26 min | $117,113 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Tustin’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 Tustin: questions
What is the median household income in Tustin?
$112,503 (±$6,171) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tustin?
9.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tustin?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tustin work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (17%, 4 mi), Santa Ana (9%, 4 mi), Los Angeles (6%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tustin walkable?
Tustin is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tustin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tustin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tustin
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.