Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Carlsbad earn more than those in 94% of U.S. towns
Carlsbad grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 6.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 0.2 in San Diego.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Carlsbad apart
A lot of Carlsbad works from home
32% of Carlsbad workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Carlsbad is where the jobs are
Carlsbad has 74,650 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Carlsbad’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Carlsbad is San Diego, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (11,482) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 Carlsbad earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carlsbad is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #190 of 847 in California. Household income holds Carlsbad’s grade up ($142,748, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, 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, Carlsbad could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How long Carlsbad spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carlsbad workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 36,914 commuters (the 32% 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.
Carlsbad on a workday afternoon
On a workday 35,237 residents head out to work, 10,180 work right here, and 64,470 people come in from elsewhere.
About 141,000 people are in Carlsbad on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
The commute from Carlsbad, by distance
About 21% 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.
Where the people who work in Carlsbad live
Where Carlsbad clocks in
25% of workers
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.
70% of the jobs in Carlsbad pay over $3,333 a month
74,650 jobs are based in Carlsbad.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carlsbad, 2013 → 2023: 60,521 → 74,650. 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 Carlsbad’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Carlsbad
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carlsbad is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #362 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.7% 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 54,224 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 54% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 3.2% of Carlsbad households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Carlsbad’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Carlsbad next to U.S. towns of 79,000 to 152,000: 92nd of 371 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| 19 | Livermore CA | 83,457 | $161K | 4.9% | 3.6% | 23% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Toms River Township NJ | 100,899 | $100K | 5.8% | 4.3% | 22% | A− |
| 91 | Cherry Hill Township NJ | 79,965 | $122K | 7.5% | 5.8% | 13% | A− |
| 92 | Carlsbad CA | 112,260 | $143K | 6.9% | 5.5% | 22% | A− |
| 93 | Lewisville TX | 139,006 | $89K | 7.9% | 4.3% | 9% | A− |
| 94 | Hanover Township IL | 97,956 | $100K | 9.9% | 4.0% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 371 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Carlsbad, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Bordering towns draw 17% of Carlsbad’s workers
The biggest share goes to Encinitas (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carlsbad workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $142,748 |
| Encinitas | 5% | A− | A | 25 min | $162,229 |
| Oceanside | 5% | B+ | A | 29 min | $97,737 |
| Lake San Marcos | under 2% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $89,851 |
| San Marcos | 3% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $109,377 |
| Vista | 4% | B | A− | 27 min | $94,975 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Carlsbad’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 Carlsbad: questions
What is the median household income in Carlsbad?
$142,748 (±$7,547) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carlsbad?
6.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carlsbad?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carlsbad work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (25%, 23 mi), Encinitas (5%, 6 mi), Oceanside (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carlsbad walkable?
Carlsbad is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carlsbad without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carlsbad, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carlsbad
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.