Work & commute · Laguna Beach

Work & commute in Laguna Beach, CA

Most working residents leave Laguna Beach for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Irvine (13%), Los Angeles (7%) and Newport Beach (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

1,212 of 8,126 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 6,914 Laguna Beach residents head out of town to work, 1,212 work right here, and 7,702 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Laguna Beach.

6,914live here, work elsewhere

1,212live and work here

7,702work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Laguna Beach goes to work

Laguna Beach (in town)right here

15%1,212

Irvine9.4 mi away

13%1,049

Los Angeles49.7 mi away

7%567

Newport Beach8.3 mi away

6%505

Santa Ana15.1 mi away

4%287

Costa Mesa12.1 mi away

3%268

San Diego61.6 mi away

3%250

Orange17.8 mi away

2%174

Anaheim21.6 mi away

2%163

Mission Viejo7.6 mi away

2%150

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%3,501

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

How far

How far Laguna Beach commutes

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

36%

28%

19%

18%

36%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Laguna Beach is balanced between jobs and homes

1.10jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Laguna Beach are

8,914 jobs are based in Laguna Beach. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Laguna Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Laguna Beach

8,914 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Laguna Beach residents hold

8,126 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+13%

Jobs based in Laguna Beach, 2013 → 2023: 7,865 → 8,914. 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.