Work & commute · Joshua Tree

Work & commute in Joshua Tree, CA

Most working residents leave Joshua Tree for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Yucca Valley (8%), Los Angeles (7%) and Twentynine Palms (4%). Half commute less than 71 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

168 of 2,374 working residents

Typical commute

71 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,206 Joshua Tree residents head out of town to work, 168 work right here, and 948 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Joshua Tree.

2,206live here, work elsewhere

168live and work here

948work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Joshua Tree goes to work

Yucca Valley6.2 mi away

8%194

Joshua Tree (in town)right here

7%168

Los Angeles120.3 mi away

7%164

Twentynine Palms14.2 mi away

4%105

Palm Springs25.6 mi away

4%85

San Bernardino56.2 mi away

3%62

San Diego100.8 mi away

2%59

Palm Desert26.8 mi away

2%47

Riverside63.2 mi away

2%40

Long Beach108.9 mi away

1%34

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%1,416

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

How far

How far Joshua Tree commutes

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

17%

12%

63%

17%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

63%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Joshua Tree is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Joshua Tree are

1,116 jobs are based in Joshua Tree. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Joshua Tree’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Joshua Tree

1,116 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Joshua Tree residents hold

2,374 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−10%

Jobs based in Joshua Tree, 2013 → 2023: 1,244 → 1,116. 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.