Work & commute · Vista

Work & commute in Vista, CA

Most working residents leave Vista for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are San Diego (16%), Carlsbad (14%) and Oceanside (10%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

5,422 of 41,968 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 36,546 Vista residents head out of town to work, 5,422 work right here, and 26,711 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Vista.

36,546live here, work elsewhere

5,422live and work here

26,711work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Vista goes to work

San Diego25.7 mi away

16%6,521

Carlsbad5 mi away

14%5,943

Vista (in town)right here

13%5,422

Oceanside4.6 mi away

10%4,060

San Marcos5.5 mi away

6%2,412

Escondido10.3 mi away

5%1,938

Encinitas9.7 mi away

3%1,120

Los Angeles88.5 mi away

3%1,102

Irvine45.7 mi away

2%638

Poway18.8 mi away

1%486

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%12,326

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

How far

How far Vista commutes

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

48%

19%

14%

19%

48%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Vista is balanced between jobs and homes

0.77jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Vista are

32,133 jobs are based in Vista. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Vista’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Vista

32,133 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Vista residents hold

41,968 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+10%

Jobs based in Vista, 2013 → 2023: 29,159 → 32,133. 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.