Work & commute · Vandenberg AFB

Work & commute in Vandenberg AFB, CA

Most working residents leave Vandenberg AFB for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (8%), Lompoc (7%) and Santa Maria (6%). Half commute less than 109 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22 of 657 working residents

Typical commute

109 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 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 635 Vandenberg AFB residents head out of town to work, 22 work right here, and 1,784 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Vandenberg AFB.

635live here, work elsewhere

22live and work here

1,784work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Vandenberg AFB goes to work

Los Angeles129.1 mi away

8%51

Lompoc4.9 mi away

7%43

Santa Maria14.6 mi away

6%39

Santa Barbara50.4 mi away

5%35

Bakersfield93.6 mi away

4%24

Vandenberg AFB (in town)right here

3%22

San Francisco250.5 mi away

3%18

San Buenaventura (Ventura)78.1 mi away

2%14

Oxnard82.5 mi away

2%12

Fresno147.4 mi away

2%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

59%388

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

How far

How far Vandenberg AFB commutes

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

11%

10%

70%

11%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

70%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Vandenberg AFB is a job hub

2.75jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Vandenberg AFB are

1,806 jobs are based in Vandenberg AFB. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Vandenberg AFB’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Vandenberg AFB

1,806 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities1%

Services (health, schools, offices…)93%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month9%

Over $3,333 a month87%

Jobs Vandenberg AFB residents hold

657 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+14%

Jobs based in Vandenberg AFB, 2013 → 2023: 1,584 → 1,806. 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.