Holbrook-Palmer Estate, "Elmwood" · Photo: LPS.1 · CC0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Atherton’s
Atherton grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. The poverty rate is 5.3%, against 12.0% across California.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Atherton stands out on work
A lot of Atherton works from home
41% of Atherton workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Atherton trades workers with the towns around it
Atherton has about as many jobs (2,349) as working residents (2,343), but they are mostly different people: 2,240 residents leave for work each day while 2,246 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Atherton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Atherton is services
96% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
80% of Atherton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 77% of the jobs based in Atherton. The jobs ↓
Atherton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Atherton is San Francisco, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (262) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Atherton’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Atherton is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #21 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
The Census reports Atherton’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Atherton could be anywhere from A− to A+.
From Atherton, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Atherton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,609 commuters (the 41% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How a workday changes Atherton
On a workday 2,240 residents head out to work, 103 work right here, and 2,246 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Atherton
2,349 jobs are based in Atherton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Atherton, 2013 → 2023: 1,949 → 2,349. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Atherton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Atherton commutes
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
11% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Atherton clocks in
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Atherton is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Atherton is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #279 of 847 in California. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across California, on an EPA index of 8.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,716 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 15% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.7% of Atherton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Atherton’s commuters take a bus or train.
214th of 3,167: where Atherton ranks among U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Algoma WI | 6,956 | $107K | 5.0% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 213 | Four Corners MD | 8,150 | $203K | 4.4% | 3.9% | 1% | A+ |
| 214 | Atherton CA | 6,960 | $250K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 4% | A+ |
| 215 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| 216 | Mattapoisett MA | 6,831 | $130K | 4.3% | 1.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Atherton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 13% of Atherton
The biggest share goes to Menlo Park (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Atherton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atherton | – | A+ | A | 23 min | $250,000+ |
| Woodside | under 3% | A+ | A− | 29 min | $250,000+ |
| Menlo Park | 8% | A | A+ | 24 min | $210,025 |
| West Menlo Park | under 3% | A | A+ | 21 min | $250,000+ |
| North Fair Oaks | under 3% | B | A | 22 min | $104,884 |
| Redwood City | 5% | A | A | 24 min | $157,814 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Atherton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Atherton: questions
What is the median household income in Atherton?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Atherton?
5.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Atherton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 41% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Atherton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (11%, 25 mi), Palo Alto (9%, 5 mi), Menlo Park (8%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Atherton walkable?
Atherton is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Atherton without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Atherton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Atherton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.