Work & commute · Indian Wells

Work & commute in Indian Wells, CA

Most working residents leave Indian Wells for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Palm Desert (19%), Rancho Mirage (8%) and La Quinta (5%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

76 of 1,419 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

36%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,343 Indian Wells residents head out of town to work, 76 work right here, and 3,467 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Indian Wells.

1,343live here, work elsewhere

76live and work here

3,467work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Indian Wells goes to work

Palm Desert3.3 mi away

19%264

Rancho Mirage7.2 mi away

8%109

La Quinta5.5 mi away

5%78

Palm Springs14 mi away

5%78

Indian Wells (in town)right here

5%76

Los Angeles121.4 mi away

5%76

Indio5.8 mi away

4%61

San Diego75.5 mi away

3%47

Cathedral City12.1 mi away

2%29

Thousand Palms8.1 mi away

2%27

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%574

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

How far

How far Indian Wells commutes

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

46%

41%

46%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

41%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Indian Wells is a job hub

2.50jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Indian Wells are

3,543 jobs are based in Indian Wells. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Indian Wells’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Indian Wells

3,543 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)94%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Indian Wells residents hold

1,419 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−5%

Jobs based in Indian Wells, 2013 → 2023: 3,745 → 3,543. 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.