Photo: John Pilge · Public domainUnemployment in Boulder Creek (12.1%) is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles. For jobs and income Boulder Creek is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A). Only 6% work in Boulder Creek itself; outside it, San Jose draws the most (12%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Boulder Creek: the figures worth knowing
Boulder Creek workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Boulder Creek is a place people come home to
There are 562 jobs based in Boulder Creek, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Boulder Creek has about 3,000 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Boulder Creek
70% of Boulder Creek residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Boulder Creek pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Boulder Creek
The poverty rate holds Boulder Creek’s grade up (7.1%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Boulder Creek could be anywhere from D to A−.
How long Boulder Creek spends getting to work: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boulder Creek workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,723 commuters (the 13% 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.
Who commutes out of Boulder Creek, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,029 residents head out to work, 125 work right here, and 437 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Boulder Creek on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
What Boulder Creek’s employers do
562 jobs are based in Boulder Creek.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boulder Creek, 2013 → 2023: 539 → 562. 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 Boulder Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the trip to work from Boulder Creek ends
Where Boulder Creek clocks in
12% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
How far Boulder Creek goes to work
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.
Boulder Creek is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,972 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 3.6% of Boulder Creek households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Boulder Creek’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,300, Boulder Creek ranks 2,920th of 4,009 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,918 | Columbia Township OH | 4,233 | $68K | 26.4% | 8.1% | 1% | C |
| 2,919 | Conneaut Township PA | 3,824 | $71K | 11.5% | 7.0% | 4% | C |
| 2,920 | Boulder Creek CA | 4,632 | $84K | 7.1% | 12.1% | 6% | C |
| 2,921 | Grape Creek TX | 4,036 | $53K | 26.9% | 2.0% | 9% | C |
| 2,922 | Rittman OH | 6,120 | $60K | 14.0% | 8.2% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,009 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Boulder Creek, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door to Boulder Creek
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boulder Creek workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Creek | – | C | A | 37 min | $84,156 |
| Brookdale | under 3% | C | B+ | 35 min | $87,358 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Boulder Creek’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 Boulder Creek: questions
What is the median household income in Boulder Creek?
$84,156 (±$20,287) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boulder Creek?
7.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boulder Creek?
37 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boulder Creek work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Jose (12%, 20 mi), Santa Cruz (8%, 12 mi), Santa Clara (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boulder Creek walkable?
Boulder Creek is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boulder Creek without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boulder Creek, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boulder Creek
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.