Work & commute · Compton

Work & commute in Compton, CA

Most working residents leave Compton for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (24%), Long Beach (6%) and Carson (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2,040 of 35,370 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 33,330 Compton residents head out of town to work, 2,040 work right here, and 24,973 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Compton.

33,330live here, work elsewhere

2,040live and work here

24,973work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Compton goes to work

Los Angeles13.6 mi away

24%8,649

Long Beach8.5 mi away

6%2,240

Compton (in town)right here

6%2,040

Carson3.9 mi away

4%1,465

Torrance8.6 mi away

4%1,273

Santa Fe Springs9.8 mi away

2%573

Anaheim27 mi away

1%525

Downey6.3 mi away

1%523

El Segundo11.4 mi away

1%506

Gardena4.6 mi away

1%457

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%17,119

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

How far

How far Compton commutes

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

52%

33%

52%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Compton is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Compton are

27,013 jobs are based in Compton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Compton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Compton

27,013 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Compton residents hold

35,370 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−6%

Jobs based in Compton, 2013 → 2023: 28,609 → 27,013. 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.