Work & commute · Palm Desert

Work & commute in Palm Desert, CA

About one in 5 of Palm Desert’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Rancho Mirage (10%), Palm Springs (7%) and La Quinta (5%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
21%
3,720 of 17,730 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
21 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
15%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,010 Palm Desert residents head out of town to work, 3,720 work right here, and 22,893 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Palm Desert.

14,010live here, work elsewhere
3,720live and work here
22,893work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Palm Desert goes to work

Indian WellsRancho MirageCathedral CityLa QuintaDesert Hot SpringsIndioPalm DesertCoachellaSan DiegoLos AngelesPalm SpringsBermuda DunesThousand PalmsRancho MiragePalm SpringsLa QuintaIndioLos AngelesSan DiegoCathedral CityIndian WellsThousand PalmsPalm Desert
1
Palm Desert (in town)right here
21%3,720
2
Rancho Mirage4.1 mi away
10%1,745
3
Palm Springs11 mi away
7%1,302
4
La Quinta8.8 mi away
5%889
5
Indio7.4 mi away
5%888
6
Los Angeles119 mi away
3%610
7
San Diego76.4 mi away
3%509
8
Cathedral City8.8 mi away
3%466
9
Indian Wells3.3 mi away
2%441
10
Thousand Palms5.4 mi away
2%404
Everywhere elseother towns and states
38%6,756

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

How far

How far Palm Desert commutes

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

51%Under 10 mi
10%10–24 mi
5%25–50 mi
35%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Palm Desert is a job hub

1.50jobs per working resident
A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Palm Desert are

26,613 jobs are based in Palm Desert. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palm Desert’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Palm Desert

26,613 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)10%
Trade, transport & utilities17%
Services (health, schools, offices…)72%
$1,250 a month or less15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month36%
Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Palm Desert residents hold

17,730 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)11%
Trade, transport & utilities17%
Services (health, schools, offices…)72%
$1,250 a month or less12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%
Over $3,333 a month59%
+12%

Jobs based in Palm Desert, 2013 → 2023: 23,848 → 26,613. 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.

The porch light’s on

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