Work & commute · Mission Viejo

Work & commute in Mission Viejo, CA

Most working residents leave Mission Viejo for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Irvine (16%), Los Angeles (6%) and Santa Ana (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3,770 of 42,199 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

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 38,429 Mission Viejo residents head out of town to work, 3,770 work right here, and 28,235 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mission Viejo.

38,429live here, work elsewhere

3,770live and work here

28,235work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mission Viejo goes to work

Irvine8.1 mi away

16%6,862

Mission Viejo (in town)right here

9%3,770

Los Angeles51.7 mi away

6%2,322

Santa Ana15.7 mi away

4%1,853

Lake Forest3.3 mi away

4%1,787

Newport Beach12.1 mi away

4%1,601

Costa Mesa15.2 mi away

3%1,183

San Diego62.1 mi away

3%1,100

Orange17 mi away

3%1,098

San Juan Capistrano7.5 mi away

2%1,002

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%19,621

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

How far

How far Mission Viejo commutes

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

36%

33%

16%

15%

36%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mission Viejo is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Mission Viejo are

32,005 jobs are based in Mission Viejo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mission Viejo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Mission Viejo

32,005 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Mission Viejo residents hold

42,199 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+6%

Jobs based in Mission Viejo, 2013 → 2023: 30,309 → 32,005. 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.