Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0California has 2.0 jobs for every working resident: 9,285 people commute in to work
Measured by household income, California is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Employers in California report 10,024 jobs for 5,050 working residents. The two grades for California are A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in California: the figures worth knowing
California is where the jobs are
California has 10,024 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
California has added jobs fast
Jobs based in California went from 5,816 in 2013 to 10,024 in 2023, +72%. The jobs ↓
California draws workers from far and wide
The 10,024 jobs in California are filled from a wide area. California’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
No single place dominates California’s commute
The biggest draw, Leonardtown, gets only 8% of working residents, and 55% work outside the top ten towns entirely. California residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Commutes from California are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in California
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, California is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #124 of 261 in Maryland. Household income holds California’s grade up ($119,855, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, California could be anywhere from B to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of California
On a workday 4,311 residents head out to work and 739 work right here.
About 18,000 people are in California on a workday afternoon, 38% more 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.
70% of the jobs in California pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in California, 2013 → 2023: 5,816 → 10,024. 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 California’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to California: where workers come from
Where California clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
Getting to work from California takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of California workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,204 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from California
About 30% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
California is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, California is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #223 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,588 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.5% of California households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of California’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000, California ranks 788th of 2,526 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 786 | North Arlington NJ | 16,601 | $94K | 4.3% | 6.3% | 5% | A− |
| 787 | Stony Point NY | 15,335 | $127K | 5.2% | 6.6% | 8% | A− |
| 788 | California MD | 13,136 | $120K | 6.9% | 2.1% | 15% | A− |
| 789 | Powdersville SC | 10,771 | $85K | 9.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A− |
| 790 | Selma TX | 11,955 | $97K | 6.2% | 4.8% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 California, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
California and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Lexington Park (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | California workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | – | A− | B− | 24 min | $119,855 |
| Wildewood | 3% | A | B | 37 min | $126,890 |
| Lexington Park | 4% | B− | B+ | 20 min | $94,799 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of California’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 California: questions
What is the median household income in California?
$119,855 (±$16,219) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in California?
6.9%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from California?
24 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in California work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Leonardtown (8%, 8 mi), Washington (6%, 51 mi), Lexington Park (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is California walkable?
California is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around California without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from California, from the people who make the trip.
More of California
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.