Work & commute · Ridgecrest

Work & commute in Ridgecrest, CA

43% of Ridgecrest’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (5%), Bakersfield (5%) and Searles Valley (3%). Half commute less than 44 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

3,625 of 8,362 working residents

Typical commute

44 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,737 Ridgecrest residents head out of town to work, 3,625 work right here, and 3,125 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ridgecrest.

4,737live here, work elsewhere

3,625live and work here

3,125work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ridgecrest goes to work

Ridgecrest (in town)right here

43%3,625

Los Angeles119 mi away

5%433

Bakersfield79.6 mi away

5%393

Searles Valley17.9 mi away

3%290

Lancaster70.8 mi away

2%150

Fresno143.1 mi away

2%139

Santa Clarita96.2 mi away

1%125

Lone Pine69.4 mi away

1%99

Palmdale75.9 mi away

1%88

El Segundo126.3 mi away

1%54

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%2,966

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

How far

How far Ridgecrest commutes

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

46%

49%

46%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

49%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ridgecrest is balanced between jobs and homes

0.81jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ridgecrest are

6,750 jobs are based in Ridgecrest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ridgecrest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ridgecrest

6,750 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Ridgecrest residents hold

8,362 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+18%

Jobs based in Ridgecrest, 2013 → 2023: 5,720 → 6,750. 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.