Work & commute · Ferndale

Work & commute in Ferndale, CA

Most working residents leave Ferndale for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Eureka (19%), Fortuna (11%) and Arcata (3%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

45 of 330 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 285 Ferndale residents head out of town to work, 45 work right here, and 320 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ferndale.

285live here, work elsewhere

45live and work here

320work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ferndale goes to work

Eureka16.3 mi away

19%62

Ferndale (in town)right here

14%45

Fortuna6.3 mi away

11%35

Arcata21.9 mi away

3%11

Humboldt Hill10.5 mi away

3%10

Myrtletown16.1 mi away

2%7

Scotia10.7 mi away

2%6

Sacramento203.5 mi away

2%5

Redding99.4 mi away

2%5

Rio Dell9.6 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%140

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

How far

How far Ferndale commutes

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

43%

31%

22%

43%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ferndale is balanced between jobs and homes

1.11jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ferndale are

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

Jobs based in Ferndale

365 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Ferndale residents hold

330 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−14%

Jobs based in Ferndale, 2013 → 2023: 422 → 365. 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.