Photo: Antandrus at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0At 9.5%, unemployment in Vandenberg Village is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Vandenberg Village are B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 6% stay in Vandenberg Village for work; outside it, Lompoc is the main destination (19%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Vandenberg Village apart on work
Vandenberg Village and Lompoc trade workers both ways
Lompoc is the top workplace for Vandenberg Village residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Vandenberg Village come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Vandenberg Village is a place people come home to
There are 540 jobs based in Vandenberg Village, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Vandenberg Village has about 4,400 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Vandenberg Village are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Vandenberg Village’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vandenberg Village is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #458 of 847 in California. The poverty rate holds Vandenberg Village’s grade up (3.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vandenberg Village could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Where people from Vandenberg Village work
Where Vandenberg Village clocks in
19% of workers
7% 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.
How a workday changes Vandenberg Village
On a workday 2,758 residents head out to work, 165 work right here, and 375 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Vandenberg Village on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.18 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip from Vandenberg Village: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vandenberg Village workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,494 commuters (the 12% 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.
What Vandenberg Village’s employers do
540 jobs are based in Vandenberg Village.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vandenberg Village, 2014 → 2024: 693 → 540. 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 Vandenberg Village’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Vandenberg Village
About 27% 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.
In Vandenberg Village, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Vandenberg Village is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #696 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Vandenberg Village 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 2,830 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 17% 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 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 2.6% of Vandenberg Village households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Vandenberg Village’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Vandenberg Village ranks: 1,687th of 3,253 U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,685 | Alvarado TX | 7,539 | $81K | 13.5% | 5.0% | 8% | B |
| 1,686 | Lower Oxford Township PA | 5,848 | $110K | 6.4% | 10.5% | 5% | B |
| 1,687 | Vandenberg Village CA | 6,776 | $111K | 3.3% | 9.5% | 6% | B |
| 1,688 | New Haven MI | 6,749 | $66K | 13.8% | 3.3% | 3% | B− |
| 1,689 | Granite Shoals TX | 5,498 | $78K | 2.4% | 4.3% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,253 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Vandenberg Village, the top three, the last and three more from California.
How Vandenberg Village compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vandenberg Village workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandenberg Village | – | B | B− | 22 min | $110,904 |
| Vandenberg AFB | 6% | B+ | B | 11 min | $84,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Vandenberg AFB. Darker towns draw more of Vandenberg Village’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 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 Vandenberg Village: questions
What is the median household income in Vandenberg Village?
$110,904 (±$14,463) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vandenberg Village?
3.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vandenberg Village?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vandenberg Village work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lompoc (19%, 3 mi), Santa Maria (9%, 15 mi), Santa Barbara (7%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Vandenberg Village walkable?
Vandenberg Village is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vandenberg Village without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vandenberg Village, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vandenberg Village
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. 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.