Work & commute · Palmdale

Work & commute in Palmdale, CA

Most working residents leave Palmdale for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (22%), Lancaster (12%) and Santa Clarita (5%). Half commute less than 35 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

9,141 of 59,656 working residents

Typical commute

35 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

40 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 50,515 Palmdale residents head out of town to work, 9,141 work right here, and 25,019 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Palmdale.

50,515live here, work elsewhere

9,141live and work here

25,019work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Palmdale goes to work

Los Angeles43.2 mi away

22%13,214

Palmdale (in town)right here

15%9,141

Lancaster8.1 mi away

12%7,232

Santa Clarita25.5 mi away

5%2,753

Burbank30.4 mi away

2%1,008

San Diego134.2 mi away

1%649

Glendale29.4 mi away

1%597

Irvine65.9 mi away

1%549

Anaheim54.5 mi away

1%488

El Segundo50.4 mi away

1%480

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%23,545

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

How far

How far Palmdale commutes

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

27%

46%

22%

27%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

46%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Palmdale is a commuter town

0.57jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Palmdale are

34,160 jobs are based in Palmdale. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palmdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Palmdale

34,160 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Palmdale residents hold

59,656 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+35%

Jobs based in Palmdale, 2013 → 2023: 25,226 → 34,160. 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.