Photo: Deathlock97 · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Westminster works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn Westminster B−; getting around on foot earns it A. 20,635 jobs are based in Westminster for 38,483 working residents. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.1 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
What’s behind Westminster’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westminster is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #515 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Westminster’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.2%, 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, Westminster could be anywhere from C+ to B.
A workday in Westminster: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 35,632 residents head out to work, 2,851 work right here, and 17,784 people come in from elsewhere.
About 71,000 people are in Westminster on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
8% of working residents work in Irvine
Where Westminster clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
What Westminster’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westminster, 2013 → 2023: 19,757 → 20,635. 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 Westminster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Westminster: 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 Westminster workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 35,227 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.
How many miles Westminster commutes
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.
Westminster 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, Westminster is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #329 of 847 in California. 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 39,831 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.1 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). 7.6% of Westminster households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Westminster’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 514 U.S. towns of 62,000 to 120,000, Westminster comes 354th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 352 | Tyler TX | 113,723 | $67K | 12.5% | 4.5% | 51% | B− |
| 353 | Caldwell ID | 76,629 | $73K | 11.9% | 5.0% | 18% | B− |
| 354 | Westminster CA | 88,966 | $86K | 14.4% | 7.2% | 7% | B− |
| 355 | Council Bluffs IA | 62,680 | $65K | 15.1% | 4.2% | 37% | B− |
| 356 | Pasco WA | 82,848 | $86K | 12.6% | 5.3% | 24% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 514 | 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 Westminster, the top three, the last and three more from California.
13% of Westminster works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Huntington Beach (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westminster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | – | B− | A | 27 min | $85,541 |
| Garden Grove | 6% | B | A− | 29 min | $92,174 |
| Huntington Beach | 7% | B+ | A | 28 min | $120,919 |
| Fountain Valley | under 4% | B+ | B+ | 26 min | $115,237 |
| Seal Beach | under 4% | B+ | A | 29 min | $85,964 |
| Midway City | under 4% | C+ | B+ | 23 min | $66,635 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Westminster’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 Westminster: questions
What is the median household income in Westminster?
$85,541 (±$4,355) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westminster?
14.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westminster?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westminster work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (8%, 14 mi), Santa Ana (7%, 6 mi), Huntington Beach (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westminster walkable?
Westminster is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westminster without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westminster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westminster
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.