Frank and Amelia Jones House · Photo: Jerri Wells · CC BY-SA 3.0La Mesa has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working residents average 24 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). Only 0% work in La Mesa; the top destination outside it is Las Cruces (42%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in La Mesa
La Mesa is a place people come home to
There are 23 jobs based in La Mesa, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday La Mesa has about 280 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
42% of La Mesa works in Las Cruces
89 working residents, 42%, have their main job in Las Cruces, 15 miles away. That’s far more as work in La Mesa itself. 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; with 212 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
La Mesa quiets down on a workday
On a workday 211 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere.
About 280 people are in La Mesa on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.11 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 2023, primary jobs.
42% of working residents work in Las Cruces
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where La Mesa clocks in
42% of workers
15% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
La Mesa makes things: 48% of its jobs are in goods
23 jobs are based in La Mesa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Mesa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Mesa, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 23. 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.
About 24 minutes each way, about the NM average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Mesa workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 135 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of La Mesa commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
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 La Mesa: questions
What is the poverty rate in La Mesa?
17.3%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Mesa?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Mesa work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Las Cruces (42%, 15 mi), El Paso (15%, 25 mi), Anthony (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around La Mesa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Mesa, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Mesa
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.