Work & commute · Descanso

Work & commute in Descanso, CA

Most working residents leave Descanso for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are San Diego (28%), El Cajon (9%) and Santee (4%). Half commute less than 30 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14 of 581 working residents

Typical commute

30 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 567 Descanso residents head out of town to work, 14 work right here, and 93 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Descanso.

567live here, work elsewhere

14live and work here

93work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Descanso goes to work

San Diego28.7 mi away

28%160

El Cajon19.9 mi away

9%55

Santee20.8 mi away

4%26

Chula Vista28 mi away

3%18

Alpine7.6 mi away

3%17

Carlsbad42.1 mi away

2%14

Descanso (in town)right here

2%14

Los Angeles129.9 mi away

2%10

Escondido31.6 mi away

2%9

National City30.8 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%250

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

How far

How far Descanso commutes

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

16%

25%

41%

18%

16%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

41%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Descanso is a commuter town

0.18jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Descanso are

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

Jobs based in Descanso

107 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)39%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Descanso residents hold

581 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

−29%

Jobs based in Descanso, 2013 → 2023: 150 → 107. 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.