El Cerrito has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. There are 542 jobs in El Cerrito for 2,306 working residents. El Cerrito grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
El Cerrito at work: what stands out
El Cerrito workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
El Cerrito and Corona trade workers both ways
Corona is the top workplace for El Cerrito residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in El Cerrito come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
El Cerrito is a place people come home to
There are 542 jobs based in El Cerrito, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday El Cerrito has about 3,600 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.
What’s behind El Cerrito’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, El Cerrito is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #227 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds El Cerrito’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.9%, 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, El Cerrito could be anywhere from B− to A+.
About 43 minutes each way, longer than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of El Cerrito workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,030 commuters (the 6% 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.
15% of working residents work in Corona
Where El Cerrito clocks in
15% of workers
7% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of El Cerrito
On a workday 2,270 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 506 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,600 people are in El Cerrito on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Goods, not services: 32% of the jobs in El Cerrito
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in El Cerrito, 2013 → 2023: 674 → 542. 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 El Cerrito’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from El Cerrito
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.
Few in El Cerrito walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, El Cerrito is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #492 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 2,153 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 52% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 2.3% of El Cerrito households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of El Cerrito’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, El Cerrito is 1,008th of 3,651 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,006 | Byron Township IL | 6,398 | $90K | 6.1% | 2.9% | 12% | A− |
| 1,007 | East Union Township OH | 6,959 | $73K | 6.9% | 1.5% | 14% | A− |
| 1,008 | El Cerrito CA | 5,325 | $109K | 6.9% | 5.9% | 2% | A− |
| 1,009 | Fircrest WA | 6,959 | $114K | 5.7% | 6.8% | 3% | A− |
| 1,010 | North Berwick ME | 5,355 | $102K | 4.4% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | 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 El Cerrito, the top three, the last and three more from California.
15% of El Cerrito works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | El Cerrito workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Cerrito | – | A− | B+ | 43 min | $108,882 |
| Corona | 15% | B+ | B+ | 34 min | $109,242 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Corona. Darker towns draw more of El Cerrito’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 El Cerrito: questions
What is the median household income in El Cerrito?
$108,882 (±$32,954) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in El Cerrito?
6.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from El Cerrito?
43 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in El Cerrito work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corona (15%, 3 mi), Riverside (7%, 10 mi), Los Angeles (5%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is El Cerrito walkable?
El Cerrito is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around El Cerrito without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from El Cerrito, from the people who make the trip.
More of El Cerrito
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.