Photo: John Pilge · Public domainWith 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Brookdale works elsewhere
Employers in Brookdale report 206 jobs, against 818 working residents. The two grades for Brookdale are C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Only 1% work in Brookdale; the top destination outside it is San Jose (11%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Brookdale, in a few figures
Brookdale is a place people come home to
There are 206 jobs based in Brookdale, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Brookdale has about 770 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Brookdale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 818 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Brookdale
On income, poverty and job access, Brookdale is better than 31% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Brookdale’s grade up ($87,358, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 15% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (7.0%) is left out: Brookdale’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Brookdale could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Brookdale quiets down on a workday
On a workday 809 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 197 people come in from elsewhere.
About 770 people are in Brookdale on a workday afternoon, 44% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Brookdale: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookdale workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 464 commuters (the 24% 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.
Commuting out of Brookdale: the destinations
Where Brookdale clocks in
11% of workers
11% 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.
In Brookdale, 51% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookdale, 2013 → 2023: 76 → 206. 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 Brookdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Brookdale’s workers travel
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.
For most of Brookdale, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brookdale is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 20.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across California, on an EPA index of 5.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 613 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 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 10.0% of Brookdale households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brookdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900, Brookdale ranks 3,241st of 5,877 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 19 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,239 | Wells Township MI | 1,585 | $72K | 8.6% | 5.2% | 1% | C |
| 3,240 | Hillsdale NY | 1,811 | $77K | 9.8% | 3.8% | 11% | C |
| 3,241 | Brookdale CA | 1,378 | $87K | 14.0% | 7.0% | 1% | C |
| 3,242 | Kersey CO | 1,500 | $68K | 13.5% | 4.8% | 9% | C |
| 3,243 | Belle Plaine KS | 1,442 | $63K | 16.8% | 3.7% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Brookdale, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Brookdale and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Ben Lomond (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brookdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale | – | C | B+ | 35 min | $87,358 |
| Ben Lomond | 4% | B− | A− | 33 min | $130,041 |
| Boulder Creek | 3% | C | A | 37 min | $84,156 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brookdale’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 Brookdale: questions
What is the median household income in Brookdale?
$87,358 (±$9,902) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookdale?
14.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookdale?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookdale work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Jose (11%, 21 mi), Santa Cruz (11%, 10 mi), Ben Lomond (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookdale walkable?
Brookdale is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 21% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookdale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brookdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookdale
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.