Work & commute · Pasadena

Work & commute in Pasadena, CA

About one in 5 of Pasadena’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (29%), Burbank (6%) and Glendale (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

11,578 of 57,023 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

28%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 45,445 Pasadena residents head out of town to work, 11,578 work right here, and 88,926 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pasadena.

45,445live here, work elsewhere

11,578live and work here

88,926work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pasadena goes to work

Los Angeles18.4 mi away

29%16,586

Pasadena (in town)right here

20%11,578

Burbank11 mi away

6%3,161

Glendale6.3 mi away

3%1,910

Altadena2.2 mi away

1%844

Arcadia6.1 mi away

1%747

San Diego109 mi away

1%619

Alhambra5.3 mi away

1%578

Monrovia8.8 mi away

1%545

Irvine39.4 mi away

1%536

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%19,919

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

How far

How far Pasadena commutes

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

45%

38%

45%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pasadena is a job hub

1.76jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Pasadena are

100,504 jobs are based in Pasadena. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pasadena’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pasadena

100,504 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Pasadena residents hold

57,023 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+6%

Jobs based in Pasadena, 2013 → 2023: 95,035 → 100,504. 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.