Photo: pedrik · CC BY 2.0Berkeley’s family incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A: better than 93% of U.S. towns on family income, poverty and job access · #34 of 847 in California.
Walkability A+: among the most walkable U.S. towns · #1 of 847 in California.
Working residents average 28 minutes each way (California 29, U.S. 26). About one in five work in Berkeley; the top destination outside it is San Francisco (26%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Berkeley
Home offices are common in Berkeley
37% of Berkeley workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Berkeley works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Berkeley: San Francisco (26%), Oakland (13%) and Emeryville (2%). Next door ↓
Berkeley is where the jobs are
Berkeley has 66,939 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Berkeley pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Berkeley pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Berkeley’s Jobs & income grade
On family income, poverty and job access, Berkeley is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #34 of 847 in California. Family income is its strongest input ($202,712, U.S. $99,999); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.9%, U.S. 11.9%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
27% of Berkeley’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (19% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 8.9%, against 17.3% for all residents. Unemployment (5.6%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($202,712), since student households pull the household median down ($108,092).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Berkeley could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 28 minutes each way, about the CA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berkeley workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37,076 commuters (the 37% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Berkeley fills up on a workday
On a workday 32,923 residents head out to work, 8,775 work right here, and 58,164 people come in from elsewhere.
About 147,000 people are in Berkeley on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
66,939 jobs are based in Berkeley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Berkeley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berkeley, 2013 → 2023: 60,446 → 66,939. 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.
Where Berkeley’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Berkeley clocks in
13% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Berkeley commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Berkeley is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berkeley is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Berkeley 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 58,917 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 87% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 23.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 20.7% of Berkeley households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 20% of Berkeley’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Berkeley is 12th of 344 U.S. towns of 85,000 to 165,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Berkeley, the top three, the last and three more from California.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 11 | Sandy UT | 92,386 | $112K | 5.5% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| 12 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 13 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| 14 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | San Ramon CA | 86,209 | $196K | 4.4% | 5.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Mission Viejo CA | 90,484 | $136K | 5.6% | 5.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 344 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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.
41% of Berkeley works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to San Francisco (26%). Darker towns draw more of Berkeley’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berkeley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | – | A | A+ | 28 min | $108,092 |
| Oakland | 13% | B | A+ | 30 min | $101,600 |
| Albany | under 1% | A | A+ | 31 min | $144,107 |
| Kensington | under 1% | A− | A+ | 33 min | $237,130 |
| Emeryville | 2% | B | A+ | 29 min | $117,092 |
| San Francisco | 26% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $140,970 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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.
- Students. 27% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Berkeley: questions
What is the median household income in Berkeley?
$108,092 (±$5,765) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berkeley?
17.3% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 8.9%. California: 12.0%.
How long is the commute from Berkeley?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 37% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berkeley work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (26%, 9 mi), Oakland (13%, 8 mi), San Jose (2%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berkeley walkable?
Berkeley is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 16.0 out of 20, and 48% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berkeley without a car?
20% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. 87% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berkeley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berkeley
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.