Photo: User:Stilfehler · Public domainHouseholds in Daly City have higher incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Only 7% work in Daly City itself; outside it, San Francisco draws the most (40%, 5 miles). Below the poverty line: 7.7% of residents, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Daly City 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
Jobs and commuting in Daly City: the gist
Much of Daly City works one town over
46% of working residents work in a town that borders Daly City: San Francisco (40%) and South San Francisco (6%). Next door ↓
Most Daly City residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Daly City
74% of Daly City residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Daly City pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Daly City empties out on a workday
About 70,000 people are in Daly City on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 101,000 who live here: 45,000 head out to work and 14,000 come in. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Daly City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Daly City is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #171 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Daly City’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Daly City could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Near or far: the trip to work from Daly City
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.
The kinds of work in Daly City
16,881 jobs are based in Daly City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Daly City, 2013 → 2023: 16,763 → 16,881. 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 Daly City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Daly City quiets down on a workday
On a workday 44,625 residents head out to work, 3,336 work right here, and 13,545 people come in from elsewhere.
About 70,000 people are in Daly City on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.35 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.
Where the trip to work from Daly City ends
Where Daly City clocks in
6% of workers
3% 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.
Time on the road from Daly City: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Daly City workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 47,062 commuters (the 15% 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.
Daly City is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 55,523 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 35% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 8.4% of Daly City households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Daly City’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Daly City is 99th of 424 U.S. towns of 71,000 to 137,000 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 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 24 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Alameda CA | 76,876 | $138K | 7.2% | 5.7% | 13% | A− |
| 98 | Maine Township IL | 136,611 | $98K | 6.7% | 5.1% | 13% | A− |
| 99 | Daly City CA | 101,261 | $124K | 7.7% | 5.3% | 7% | A− |
| 100 | Elk Grove Township IL | 93,072 | $89K | 8.1% | 3.9% | 14% | A− |
| 101 | Woodbridge Township NJ | 104,802 | $109K | 8.4% | 4.9% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 424 | 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 Daly City, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 46% of Daly City
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Daly City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daly City | – | A− | A+ | 29 min | $123,547 |
| San Francisco | 40% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $140,970 |
| South San Francisco | 6% | A | A | 26 min | $136,578 |
| Pacifica | under 2% | A | A− | 27 min | $160,523 |
| Brisbane | under 2% | A− | A | 34 min | $156,169 |
| Colma | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $148,295 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Francisco. Darker towns draw more of Daly City’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 Daly City: questions
What is the median household income in Daly City?
$123,547 (±$5,280) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Daly City?
7.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Daly City?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Daly City work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (40%, 5 mi), South San Francisco (6%, 6 mi), Oakland (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Daly City walkable?
Daly City is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Daly City without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Daly City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Daly City
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.