John Marsh House · Photo: Robin Mayoff (RHM Images) · CC BY-SA 3.0Brentwood has higher household incomes than 94% of U.S. towns
Brentwood grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. 8.3% of residents are in poverty (California 12.0%). About one in seven work in Brentwood; the top destination outside it is San Francisco (8%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Brentwood apart on work
Brentwood workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Brentwood’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Brentwood is San Francisco, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (2,078) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Brentwood has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Brentwood went from 9,285 in 2014 to 15,137 in 2024, +63%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Brentwood
73% of Brentwood residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Brentwood pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Brentwood
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brentwood is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #324 of 847 in California. Household income holds Brentwood’s grade up ($142,494, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brentwood could be anywhere from B to A−.
Each way, about 40 minutes from Brentwood
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brentwood workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,591 commuters (the 19% 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.
Brentwood’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What the 15,137 jobs in Brentwood are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brentwood, 2014 → 2024: 9,285 → 15,137. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brentwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Brentwood
On a workday 23,800 residents head out to work, 3,708 work right here, and 11,429 people come in from elsewhere.
About 54,000 people are in Brentwood on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.55 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 2024, primary jobs.
The places Brentwood commutes to
Where Brentwood clocks in
5% of workers
5% 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.
Brentwood is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brentwood is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #296 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Brentwood 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 28,969 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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 Brentwood households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Brentwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Brentwood ranks: 313th of 648 U.S. towns of 47,000 to 90,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 311 | Gloucester Township NJ | 67,085 | $101K | 8.4% | 7.0% | 8% | B+ |
| 312 | Covina CA | 49,404 | $99K | 8.9% | 6.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 313 | Brentwood CA | 66,607 | $142K | 8.3% | 5.8% | 13% | B+ |
| 314 | Portage MI | 49,862 | $83K | 7.1% | 4.3% | 22% | B+ |
| 315 | Cuyahoga Falls OH | 50,975 | $73K | 10.5% | 3.2% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 648 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 27% | 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 Brentwood, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Brentwood: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Antioch (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Brentwood’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 2024, 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 Brentwood: questions
What is the median household income in Brentwood?
$142,494 (±$8,669) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brentwood?
8.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brentwood?
40 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brentwood work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (8%, 40 mi), Oakland (5%, 30 mi), Antioch (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Brentwood walkable?
Brentwood is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brentwood without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brentwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brentwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.