Work & commute · Imperial Beach

Work & commute in Imperial Beach, CA

Most working residents leave Imperial Beach for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are San Diego (44%), Chula Vista (9%) and Coronado (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

545 of 11,611 working residents

Typical commute

14 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 11,066 Imperial Beach residents head out of town to work, 545 work right here, and 2,237 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Imperial Beach.

11,066live here, work elsewhere

545live and work here

2,237work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Imperial Beach goes to work

San Diego18.3 mi away

44%5,066

Chula Vista7.2 mi away

9%1,090

Imperial Beach (in town)right here

5%545

Coronado6.8 mi away

4%502

National City7 mi away

3%355

Los Angeles125.3 mi away

2%277

El Cajon18.6 mi away

2%211

La Mesa15.3 mi away

1%141

Irvine85.8 mi away

1%114

Carlsbad40.1 mi away

1%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%3,203

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

How far

How far Imperial Beach commutes

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

33%

38%

21%

33%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Imperial Beach is a commuter town

0.24jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Imperial Beach are

2,782 jobs are based in Imperial Beach. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Imperial Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Imperial Beach

2,782 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Imperial Beach residents hold

11,611 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+3%

Jobs based in Imperial Beach, 2013 → 2023: 2,697 → 2,782. 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.