Photo: Boereck 14:52, 27 July 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0Clayton’s household incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in San Francisco. 2.5% of residents are in poverty (California 12.0%). Clayton grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Clayton apart
Clayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Clayton
75% of Clayton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Clayton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Clayton is a place people come home to
There are 1,208 jobs based in Clayton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Clayton has about 7,200 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. 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.
Clayton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clayton is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #208 of 847 in California. Household income holds Clayton’s grade up ($175,707, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.7%, 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, Clayton could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Getting to work from Clayton takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clayton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,886 commuters (the 22% 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.
What the 1,208 jobs in Clayton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clayton, 2013 → 2023: 1,270 → 1,208. 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 Clayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Clayton by day and by night
On a workday 4,667 residents head out to work, 154 work right here, and 1,054 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,200 people are in Clayton on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
12% of working residents work in Concord
Where Clayton clocks in
12% of workers
11% 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 it is to work from Clayton
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Clayton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clayton is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #308 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Clayton 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 4,963 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 69% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 3.7% of Clayton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Clayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
837th of 2,507: where Clayton ranks among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 835 | Beloit WI | 8,014 | $80K | 4.8% | 3.2% | 7% | A− |
| 836 | Middle Valley TN | 12,187 | $95K | 5.0% | 4.0% | 1% | A− |
| 837 | Clayton CA | 10,842 | $176K | 2.5% | 6.7% | 3% | A− |
| 838 | Maplewood MO | 8,033 | $65K | 8.7% | 2.0% | 6% | A− |
| 839 | Hartland WI | 10,740 | $88K | 5.2% | 4.8% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Clayton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 12% of Clayton
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Concord. Darker towns draw more of Clayton’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 Clayton: questions
What is the median household income in Clayton?
$175,707 (±$11,928) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clayton?
2.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clayton?
36 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clayton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Concord (12%, 4 mi), Walnut Creek (11%, 7 mi), San Francisco (9%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clayton walkable?
Clayton is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clayton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clayton
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.