Photo: Taken by Antandrus · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Buellton (2.2%) than in 82% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Buellton itself; outside it, Santa Barbara draws the most (15%, 31 miles). Buellton grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Buellton, in a few figures
Buellton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Buellton is Santa Barbara, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (342) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Buellton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Buellton went from 2,260 in 2013 to 3,357 in 2023, +49%. The jobs ↓
Buellton gains people on a workday
About 6,200 people are in Buellton on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 5,200 who live here: 3,100 come in to work and 2,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Buellton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buellton is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #193 of 847 in California. Unemployment holds Buellton’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buellton could be anywhere from B− to A.
How far it is to work from Buellton
About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in Buellton
3,357 jobs are based in Buellton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buellton, 2013 → 2023: 2,260 → 3,357. 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 Buellton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Buellton, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,032 residents head out to work, 284 work right here, and 3,073 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Buellton on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Buellton goes to work
Where Buellton clocks in
15% of workers
10% of workers
9% 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.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Buellton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buellton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,600 commuters (the 16% 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.
Most of Buellton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buellton is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #538 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,082 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, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 1.9% of Buellton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buellton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000, Buellton ranks 904th of 3,696 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 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 902 | Conestoga Township PA | 3,916 | $93K | 6.6% | 2.9% | 5% | A− |
| 903 | Martic Township PA | 5,135 | $93K | 9.5% | 0.4% | 6% | A− |
| 904 | Buellton CA | 5,158 | $100K | 4.9% | 2.2% | 12% | A− |
| 905 | Bridgeport TX | 6,915 | $96K | 2.1% | 3.9% | 18% | A− |
| 906 | Chilton WI | 4,183 | $83K | 7.8% | 1.2% | 27% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | 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 Buellton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Buellton: questions
What is the median household income in Buellton?
$99,936 (±$26,790) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buellton?
4.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buellton?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buellton work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Barbara (15%, 31 mi), Goleta (10%, 23 mi), Solvang (9%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buellton walkable?
Buellton is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buellton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buellton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buellton
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.