Work & commute · Dana Point

Work & commute in Dana Point, CA

Most working residents leave Dana Point for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Irvine (11%), Los Angeles (6%) and San Clemente (6%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

931 of 12,471 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

32%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,540 Dana Point residents head out of town to work, 931 work right here, and 9,007 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dana Point.

11,540live here, work elsewhere

931live and work here

9,007work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dana Point goes to work

Irvine14.7 mi away

11%1,345

Dana Point (in town)right here

7%931

Los Angeles55.8 mi away

6%782

San Clemente5 mi away

6%731

San Juan Capistrano2.8 mi away

6%688

Newport Beach14.4 mi away

4%516

Mission Viejo9.5 mi away

3%433

Laguna Niguel3.8 mi away

3%392

San Diego55.5 mi away

3%375

Santa Ana21.1 mi away

3%329

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%5,949

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

How far

How far Dana Point commutes

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

32%

28%

19%

20%

32%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dana Point is balanced between jobs and homes

0.80jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Dana Point are

9,938 jobs are based in Dana Point. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dana Point’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Dana Point

9,938 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Dana Point residents hold

12,471 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+13%

Jobs based in Dana Point, 2013 → 2023: 8,787 → 9,938. 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.