Photo: Elaine with Grey Cats from Mountain View, CA, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Ben Lomond have higher incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
4.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. Jobs and income earn Ben Lomond B−; getting around on foot earns it A−. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ben Lomond, in a few figures
Where Ben Lomond’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ben Lomond is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #474 of 847 in California. Household income holds Ben Lomond’s grade up ($130,041, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (11.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ben Lomond could be anywhere from B− to A−.
How many people are in Ben Lomond by day
On a workday 2,612 residents head out to work, 155 work right here, and 602 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Ben Lomond on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.27 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Santa Cruz
Where Ben Lomond clocks in
13% of workers
11% of workers
6% 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.
The 757 jobs based in Ben Lomond
757 jobs are based in Ben Lomond.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ben Lomond, 2013 → 2023: 803 → 757. 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 Ben Lomond’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Ben Lomond: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ben Lomond workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,560 commuters (the 21% 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 far it is to work from Ben Lomond
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Ben Lomond
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ben Lomond is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #467 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Ben Lomond near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,228 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 30% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 0.4% of Ben Lomond households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ben Lomond’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ben Lomond is 1,728th of 3,229 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,726 | Catasauqua PA | 6,590 | $85K | 9.6% | 8.2% | 3% | B− |
| 1,727 | Montgomery Township PA | 5,823 | $99K | 7.9% | 4.0% | 6% | B− |
| 1,728 | Ben Lomond CA | 6,858 | $130K | 4.9% | 11.6% | 6% | B− |
| 1,729 | Welcome SC | 6,527 | $66K | 8.9% | 5.1% | 1% | B− |
| 1,730 | Reynolds Township MI | 5,687 | $73K | 9.2% | 3.6% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | 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 Ben Lomond, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Ben Lomond and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Felton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ben Lomond workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Lomond | – | B− | A− | 33 min | $130,041 |
| Brookdale | under 3% | C | B+ | 35 min | $87,358 |
| Lompico | under 3% | — | — | 43 min | — |
| Felton | 3% | A− | B− | 26 min | $123,056 |
| Zayante | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Bonny Doon | under 3% | C | A− | 40 min | $144,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lompico and Zayante: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ben Lomond’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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ben Lomond: questions
What is the median household income in Ben Lomond?
$130,041 (±$13,062) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ben Lomond?
4.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ben Lomond?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ben Lomond work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Cruz (13%, 8 mi), San Jose (11%, 21 mi), Scotts Valley (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ben Lomond walkable?
Ben Lomond is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ben Lomond without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ben Lomond, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ben Lomond
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.