Work & commute · South Pasadena

Work & commute in South Pasadena, CA

Most working residents leave South Pasadena for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (35%), Pasadena (10%) and Burbank (4%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

599 of 11,128 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,529 South Pasadena residents head out of town to work, 599 work right here, and 7,613 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Pasadena.

10,529live here, work elsewhere

599live and work here

7,613work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Pasadena goes to work

Los Angeles15.8 mi away

35%3,902

Pasadena3.7 mi away

10%1,092

South Pasadena (in town)right here

5%599

Burbank11.2 mi away

4%486

Glendale7.1 mi away

2%253

Alhambra2.1 mi away

2%188

Monterey Park4.4 mi away

1%136

Irvine37.1 mi away

1%125

San Diego106.6 mi away

1%114

San Francisco369.9 mi away

1%110

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%4,123

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

How far

How far South Pasadena commutes

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

52%

30%

52%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Pasadena is a commuter town

0.74jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in South Pasadena are

8,212 jobs are based in South Pasadena. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Pasadena’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Pasadena

8,212 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs South Pasadena residents hold

11,128 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+28%

Jobs based in South Pasadena, 2013 → 2023: 6,417 → 8,212. 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.