Work & commute · Downey

Work & commute in Downey, CA

Most working residents leave Downey for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (22%), Long Beach (4%) and Santa Fe Springs (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4,183 of 48,311 working residents

Typical commute

11 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 44,128 Downey residents head out of town to work, 4,183 work right here, and 38,117 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Downey.

44,128live here, work elsewhere

4,183live and work here

38,117work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Downey goes to work

Los Angeles17 mi away

22%10,711

Downey (in town)right here

9%4,183

Long Beach11.1 mi away

4%1,973

Santa Fe Springs3.9 mi away

3%1,285

Anaheim22.1 mi away

2%1,153

Commerce4 mi away

2%960

Cerritos6 mi away

2%776

Carson9.6 mi away

2%742

Norwalk3.4 mi away

1%698

Irvine27.4 mi away

1%669

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%25,161

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

How far

How far Downey commutes

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

44%

40%

44%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Downey is balanced between jobs and homes

0.88jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Downey are

42,300 jobs are based in Downey. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Downey’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Downey

42,300 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Downey residents hold

48,311 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+14%

Jobs based in Downey, 2013 → 2023: 37,234 → 42,300. 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.