Photo: Original uploader was Ohnoitsjamie at en.wikipedia · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Encinitas are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.2 in San Diego. 7.4% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Jobs and income earn Encinitas A−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Encinitas, in brief
Encinitas trades workers with the towns around it
Encinitas has about as many jobs (24,123) as working residents (24,281), but they are mostly different people: 20,684 residents leave for work each day while 20,526 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Encinitas are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Encinitas
33% of Encinitas workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Encinitas and San Diego trade workers both ways
San Diego is the top workplace for Encinitas residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Encinitas come from (18% of its jobs). 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.
Where Encinitas’ Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Encinitas is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #133 of 847 in California. Household income holds Encinitas’ grade up ($162,229, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, 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, Encinitas could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Encinitas by day and by night
On a workday 20,684 residents head out to work, 3,597 work right here, and 20,526 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 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 daily trip from Encinitas: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Encinitas workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,190 commuters (the 33% 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.
31% of working residents work in San Diego
Where Encinitas clocks in
31% of workers
10% 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.
Jobs in Encinitas: what the 24,123 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Encinitas, 2013 → 2023: 21,977 → 24,123. 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 Encinitas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Encinitas
About 24% 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.
Encinitas is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Encinitas is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #265 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.8% 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 31,480 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% 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). 3.0% of Encinitas households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Encinitas’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 712 U.S. towns of 43,000 to 82,000, Encinitas comes 194th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 192 | Beavercreek OH | 48,134 | $110K | 6.9% | 3.6% | 16% | A− |
| 193 | San Clemente CA | 62,226 | $140K | 5.8% | 4.6% | 18% | A− |
| 194 | Encinitas CA | 60,736 | $162K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 15% | A− |
| 195 | Blaine MN | 76,603 | $107K | 7.2% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| 196 | Poway CA | 49,180 | $148K | 5.6% | 5.2% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 712 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Encinitas, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 15% of Encinitas
The biggest share goes to Carlsbad (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Encinitas workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encinitas | – | A− | A | 25 min | $162,229 |
| Carlsbad | 10% | A− | A− | 27 min | $142,748 |
| Solana Beach | 2% | A | A+ | 21 min | $152,167 |
| San Marcos | 3% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $109,377 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Encinitas’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 Encinitas: questions
What is the median household income in Encinitas?
$162,229 (±$10,306) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Encinitas?
7.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Encinitas?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Encinitas work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (31%, 17 mi), Carlsbad (10%, 6 mi), Los Angeles (3%, 94 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Encinitas walkable?
Encinitas is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Encinitas without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Encinitas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Encinitas
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.