Work & commute · Tehachapi

Work & commute in Tehachapi, CA

About one in 5 of Tehachapi’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bakersfield (9%), Los Angeles (6%) and Golden Hills (4%). Half commute less than 38 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

763 of 3,492 working residents

Typical commute

38 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 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 2,729 Tehachapi residents head out of town to work, 763 work right here, and 3,994 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Tehachapi.

2,729live here, work elsewhere

763live and work here

3,994work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Tehachapi goes to work

Tehachapi (in town)right here

22%763

Bakersfield36.4 mi away

9%320

Los Angeles77.7 mi away

6%207

Golden Hills2.9 mi away

4%140

Mojave17 mi away

4%129

Lancaster34.6 mi away

4%125

Palmdale42.7 mi away

2%85

Santa Clarita50.3 mi away

1%47

Fresno136.1 mi away

1%43

Bear Valley Springs12.9 mi away

1%39

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%1,594

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

How far

How far Tehachapi commutes

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

29%

24%

39%

29%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

39%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Tehachapi is balanced between jobs and homes

1.36jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Tehachapi are

4,757 jobs are based in Tehachapi. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tehachapi’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Tehachapi

4,757 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Tehachapi residents hold

3,492 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+107%

Jobs based in Tehachapi, 2013 → 2023: 2,294 → 4,757. 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.