Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Intersofia assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0Del Mar has higher household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 49% of workers, against 17% across California. The poverty rate is 2.7%, where California as a whole has 12.0%. For jobs and income Del Mar is among the top U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Del Mar, in brief
A lot of Del Mar works from home
49% of Del Mar workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Much of Del Mar works one town over
53% of working residents work in a town that borders Del Mar: San Diego (50%) and Solana Beach (3%). Next door ↓
Del Mar is where the jobs are
Del Mar has 3,142 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,400 people are in town, 41% more than the 3,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Del Mar is services
91% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Del Mar are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Del Mar’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Del Mar is among the top U.S. towns, #2 of 847 in California. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Del Mar’s grade. 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, Del Mar could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Del Mar, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Del Mar workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,101 commuters (the 49% 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.
Who works in Del Mar, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,421 residents head out to work, 146 work right here, and 2,996 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Del Mar on a workday afternoon, 41% more than live here.
2.0 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.
In Del Mar, services account for most jobs
3,142 jobs are based in Del Mar.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Del Mar, 2013 → 2023: 3,075 → 3,142. 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 Del Mar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who travels to work in Del Mar, and from where
Where Del Mar clocks in
50% of workers
4% 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.
How far Del Mar’s workers travel
About 19% 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.
Getting around Del Mar: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 2,158 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, 48% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 0.7% of Del Mar households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Del Mar’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Del Mar is 28th of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 27 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 28 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 29 | Fairway KS | 4,181 | $153K | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 30 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Emerald Lake Hills CA | 4,235 | $250K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 127 | Fairbanks Ranch CA | 2,703 | $250K | 5.5% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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 Del Mar, the top three, the last and three more from California.
53% of Del Mar works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to San Diego (50%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Del Mar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Mar | – | A+ | B+ | 22 min | $199,152 |
| San Diego | 50% | B+ | A | 24 min | $108,077 |
| Solana Beach | 3% | A | A+ | 21 min | $152,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Del Mar’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 Del Mar: questions
What is the median household income in Del Mar?
$199,152 (±$30,303) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Del Mar?
2.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Del Mar?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 49% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Del Mar work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (50%, 12 mi), Carlsbad (4%, 12 mi), Encinitas (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Del Mar walkable?
Del Mar is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 16.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Del Mar without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 48% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Del Mar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Del Mar
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.