Work & commute · Mesa

Work & commute in Mesa, AZ

About one in 4 of Mesa’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Phoenix (25%), Tempe (14%) and Chandler (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

24%

51,477 of 218,166 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 166,689 Mesa residents head out of town to work, 51,477 work right here, and 118,195 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mesa.

166,689live here, work elsewhere

51,477live and work here

118,195work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mesa goes to work

Phoenix24.6 mi away

25%53,976

Mesa (in town)right here

24%51,477

Tempe12.5 mi away

14%29,883

Chandler11.2 mi away

8%17,803

Scottsdale21.4 mi away

7%16,241

Gilbert6.2 mi away

7%16,044

Tucson99.1 mi away

1%2,509

Glendale28.8 mi away

1%2,083

Queen Creek12.5 mi away

1%1,911

Apache Junction10.2 mi away

1%1,277

Everywhere elseother towns and states

11%24,962

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Mesa commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

41%

45%

41%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mesa is balanced between jobs and homes

0.78jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Mesa are

169,672 jobs are based in Mesa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mesa’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Mesa

169,672 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Mesa residents hold

218,166 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+36%

Jobs based in Mesa, 2013 → 2023: 125,009 → 169,672. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.