Work & commute · Big Bear Lake

Work & commute in Big Bear Lake, CA

Most working residents leave Big Bear Lake for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (14%), Long Beach (2%) and San Diego (2%). Half commute less than 67 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

466 of 3,581 working residents

Typical commute

67 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,115 Big Bear Lake residents head out of town to work, 466 work right here, and 3,729 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Big Bear Lake.

3,115live here, work elsewhere

466live and work here

3,729work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Big Bear Lake goes to work

Los Angeles88.1 mi away

14%512

Big Bear Lake (in town)right here

13%466

Long Beach79.7 mi away

2%77

San Diego98.5 mi away

2%73

Anaheim56.3 mi away

2%62

Riverside35.5 mi away

2%60

San Bernardino24 mi away

2%57

Big Bear City5.7 mi away

2%54

Irvine63.6 mi away

1%53

Santa Ana66.6 mi away

1%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

59%2,120

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

How far

How far Big Bear Lake commutes

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

15%

16%

65%

15%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

65%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Big Bear Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Big Bear Lake are

4,195 jobs are based in Big Bear Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Big Bear Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Big Bear Lake

4,195 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Big Bear Lake residents hold

3,581 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+21%

Jobs based in Big Bear Lake, 2013 → 2023: 3,480 → 4,195. 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.