Household incomes put Corte Madera near the very top of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 4.6%, where California as a whole has 12.0%. Measured by household income, Corte Madera is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Corte Madera 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
Work in Corte Madera, in a few figures
A lot of Corte Madera works from home
44% of Corte Madera workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Corte Madera and San Francisco trade workers both ways
San Francisco is the top workplace for Corte Madera residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Corte Madera come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Three in four Corte Madera workers earn over $40,000 a year
78% of Corte Madera’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Corte Madera draws workers from far and wide
The 5,515 jobs in Corte Madera are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 39%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Corte Madera’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Corte Madera is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #59 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($232,763, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Corte Madera could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How long Corte Madera spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Corte Madera workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,608 commuters (the 44% 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.
32% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Corte Madera clocks in
7% 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.
What the 5,515 jobs in Corte Madera are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Corte Madera, 2013 → 2023: 6,075 → 5,515. 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 Corte Madera’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Corte Madera
On a workday 3,452 residents head out to work, 243 work right here, and 5,272 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Corte Madera on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 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.
The commute from Corte Madera, by distance
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.
In Corte Madera, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Corte Madera is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #37 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Corte Madera 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 4,664 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 23% 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). 1.8% of Corte Madera households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Corte Madera’s commuters take a bus or train.
Corte Madera places 390th of 2,722 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 13,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 388 | Barberton WA | 8,668 | $134K | 3.7% | 3.8% | 2% | A |
| 389 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| 390 | Corte Madera CA | 9,929 | $233K | 4.6% | 4.2% | 7% | A |
| 391 | Clarendon Hills IL | 8,681 | $130K | 8.4% | 3.2% | 3% | A |
| 392 | Hebron CT | 9,256 | $143K | 4.1% | 3.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,722 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Corte Madera, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Corte Madera
The biggest share goes to Larkspur (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Corte Madera workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corte Madera | – | A | A+ | 31 min | $232,763 |
| Larkspur | 4% | A− | A+ | 28 min | $140,417 |
| Mill Valley | 2% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $206,212 |
| Tiburon | under 2% | A− | A+ | 29 min | $232,969 |
| Strawberry | under 2% | A | A | 30 min | $157,661 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Corte Madera’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 Corte Madera: questions
What is the median household income in Corte Madera?
$232,763 (±$36,730) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Corte Madera?
4.6%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Corte Madera?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 44% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Corte Madera work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (32%, 12 mi), San Rafael (7%, 3 mi), Larkspur (4%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Corte Madera walkable?
Corte Madera is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Corte Madera without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 23% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Corte Madera, from the people who make the trip.
More of Corte Madera
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.