Work & commute · Desert Center

Work & commute in Desert Center, CA

Most working residents leave Desert Center for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Blythe (33%), Indio (7%) and Palm Desert (5%). Half commute less than 50 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 85 working residents

Typical commute

50 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 85 Desert Center residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 9 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Desert Center.

85live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

9work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Desert Center goes to work

Blythe43.2 mi away

33%28

Indio50 mi away

7%6

Palm Desert57.3 mi away

5%4

San Diego119.2 mi away

4%3

Mesa Verde37.8 mi away

4%3

Torrance171.8 mi away

2%2

Redlands105.7 mi away

2%2

Palm Springs67.4 mi away

2%2

Thousand Palms57 mi away

2%2

McFarland256.8 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%32

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

How far

How far Desert Center commutes

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

48%

51%

1%Under 10 mi

0%10–24 mi

48%25–50 mi

51%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Desert Center is a commuter town

0.11jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Desert Center are

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

Jobs based in Desert Center

9 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)89%

$1,250 a month or less33%

$1,251–$3,333 a month11%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Desert Center residents hold

85 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+80%

Jobs based in Desert Center, 2013 → 2023: 5 → 9. 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.