AFFLUENT WORKERS INCREASE STUDY FINDS MANY WANT NEW JOBS CLOSER TO HOME.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Average household income in the Antelope Valley jumped more than 11 percent over the last three years, according to survey results released Thursday.

The sharp increase in household income reflects a change in distribution among income classifications. Fewer people reported making less than $30,000 per year, and more reported income above $75,000 a year.

``That is a pretty good increase in average income,'' said economist Alfred Gobar, whose firm has been conducting the Antelope Valley surveys every three or four years since 1987. ``It's pretty consistent with what we see in most parts of California where we're doing these studies.''

The survey found that 29.9 percent of Antelope Valley households, including many households of retirees, have incomes under $30,000, while income tops $75,000 in 23.5 percent of households. More than 35 percent have annual incomes between $40,000 and $75,000.

The survey results are part of a 100-page, $50,000 labor market study produced by Alfred Gobar Associates for the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance, a nonprofit organization supported by the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, other government agencies and local businesses.

Gobar calculated the population of the Antelope Valley - from Acton to Tehachapi - at more than 400,000 people, about 40,000 more than other recent estimates. The survey included telephone interviews last month with 600 people.

Gobar concluded that nearly 57,000 residents - more than one-third of those who are employed - commute to jobs outside the valley. Long-distance commuters - those who drive more than an hour each way - are more likely to be homeowners and to have a higher income than the typical valley resident, the report says.

The alliance will use the report to try to recruit new employers who regard the availability of workers wanting to avoid long-distance commuting as a major consideration in picking new locations.

The results ``are going to change perceptions and change old images of the Antelope Valley,'' said Larry Grooms, the alliance's president and chief executive officer.

Both commuting time and commuters' dissatisfaction with Antelope Valley Freeway traffic decreased since 1997, the last time Gobar did his survey.

Average one-way commuting time to a job dipped four minutes to 58 minutes, while the proportion of commuters who described their drive as usually or always uncongested increased to 33 percent from 32 percent in 1997. However, 32 percent said their drive was always congested, up from 31 percent three years ago.

Gobar suggested the difference might be due to the completion of the Antelope Valley Freeway diamond lanes for car pools between Santa Clarita and Agua Dulce.