Work & commute · Whittier

Work & commute in Whittier, CA

Most working residents leave Whittier for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Los Angeles (16%), Santa Fe Springs (4%) and Anaheim (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3,214 of 39,196 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 35,982 Whittier residents head out of town to work, 3,214 work right here, and 23,884 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Whittier.

35,982live here, work elsewhere

3,214live and work here

23,884work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Whittier goes to work

Los Angeles22.7 mi away

16%6,406

Whittier (in town)right here

8%3,214

Santa Fe Springs3.3 mi away

4%1,736

Anaheim16.9 mi away

4%1,593

Fullerton7.7 mi away

2%796

Industry6.1 mi away

2%769

Downey6.6 mi away

2%752

Long Beach15.4 mi away

2%707

Brea9.3 mi away

2%615

Montebello6.2 mi away

2%606

Everywhere elseother towns and states

56%22,002

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

How far

How far Whittier commutes

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

41%

43%

41%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Whittier is a commuter town

0.69jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Whittier are

27,098 jobs are based in Whittier. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Whittier’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Whittier

27,098 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Whittier residents hold

39,196 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+14%

Jobs based in Whittier, 2013 → 2023: 23,751 → 27,098. 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.