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Work & commute · National

Work & commute in National, CA

Most working residents leave National for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are San Diego (48%), Chula Vista (9%) and El Cajon (2%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
9%
2,240 of 25,437 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
25 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
7%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 23,197 National residents head out of town to work, 2,240 work right here, and 18,710 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in National.

23,197live here, work elsewhere
2,240live and work here
18,710work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where National goes to work

Imperial BeachNational CityCoronadoLa MesaEl CajonSanteePowaySan DiegoLos AngelesChula VistaIrvineBonitaLa PresaSpring ValleySan DiegoChula VistaEl CajonLos AngelesLa MesaPowayCoronadoSanteeIrvineNational
1
San Diego11.5 mi away
48%12,279
2
Chula Vista5.5 mi away
9%2,268
3
National City (in town)right here
9%2,240
4
El Cajon12.4 mi away
2%607
5
Los Angeles120.4 mi away
2%584
6
La Mesa8.8 mi away
2%420
7
Poway22.7 mi away
1%269
8
Coronado3.4 mi away
1%231
9
Santee14.7 mi away
1%209
10
Irvine80.1 mi away
1%203
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%6,127

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

How far

How far National commutes

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

50%Under 10 mi
28%10–24 mi
4%25–50 mi
19%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

National is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in National are

20,950 jobs are based in National. Here is what they are, next to the jobs National’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in National

20,950 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)20%
Trade, transport & utilities27%
Services (health, schools, offices…)54%
$1,250 a month or less14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month32%
Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs National residents hold

25,437 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)16%
Trade, transport & utilities18%
Services (health, schools, offices…)66%
$1,250 a month or less11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%
Over $3,333 a month56%
+7%

Jobs based in National, 2013 → 2023: 19,514 → 20,950. 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.

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National is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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