Work & commute · Poway

Work & commute in Poway, CA

Most working residents leave Poway for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are San Diego (49%), Escondido (3%) and Los Angeles (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

2,604 of 21,833 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

24%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,229 Poway residents head out of town to work, 2,604 work right here, and 29,289 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Poway.

19,229live here, work elsewhere

2,604live and work here

29,289work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Poway goes to work

San Diego12.3 mi away

49%10,600

Poway (in town)right here

12%2,604

Escondido10.5 mi away

3%646

Los Angeles107.2 mi away

3%581

Carlsbad18.1 mi away

3%580

El Cajon13.3 mi away

2%329

San Marcos13.3 mi away

1%317

Irvine64.4 mi away

1%283

San Francisco470.9 mi away

1%269

Encinitas14.7 mi away

1%233

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%5,391

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

How far

How far Poway commutes

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

34%

45%

19%

34%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Poway is balanced between jobs and homes

1.46jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Poway are

31,893 jobs are based in Poway. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Poway’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Poway

31,893 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Poway residents hold

21,833 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+29%

Jobs based in Poway, 2013 → 2023: 24,788 → 31,893. 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.