Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, CA

About one in 4 of Lancaster’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (18%), Palmdale (11%) and Santa Clarita (3%). Half commute less than 37 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

14,996 of 59,109 working residents

Typical commute

37 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 44,113 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 14,996 work right here, and 27,961 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

44,113live here, work elsewhere

14,996live and work here

27,961work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Lancaster (in town)right here

25%14,996

Los Angeles48.5 mi away

18%10,557

Palmdale8.1 mi away

11%6,572

Santa Clarita26.6 mi away

3%1,833

Burbank35.8 mi away

1%766

San Diego142.3 mi away

1%676

El Segundo56 mi away

1%528

Quartz Hill3.7 mi away

1%507

Irvine73.8 mi away

1%502

Long Beach63.1 mi away

1%457

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%21,715

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

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

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

38%

31%

28%

38%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is a commuter town

0.73jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

42,957 jobs are based in Lancaster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lancaster

42,957 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

59,109 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+36%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 31,506 → 42,957. 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.