Howell House · Photo: Anechka2003 · CC BY-SA 3.0Escondido’s household incomes are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 12.2% of residents (California 12.0%). The two grades for Escondido are B for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in five work in Escondido; the top destination outside it is San Diego (24%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Escondido and work: the main findings
The figures behind Escondido’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Escondido is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #370 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Escondido’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Escondido could be anywhere from B to B+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Escondido
On a workday 53,462 residents head out to work, 11,076 work right here, and 38,013 people come in from elsewhere.
About 131,000 people are in Escondido on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
Commuting out of Escondido: the destinations
Where Escondido clocks in
24% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 Escondido’s employers do
49,089 jobs are based in Escondido.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Escondido, 2013 → 2023: 40,639 → 49,089. 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 Escondido’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Escondido: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Escondido workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 62,322 commuters (the 14% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Escondido
About 21% 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.
Escondido is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% 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 72,369 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 36% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 12.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 6.1% of Escondido households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Escondido’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
107th of 241: where Escondido ranks among U.S. towns of 102,000 to 197,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | San Mateo CA | 103,337 | $154K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Joliet IL | 152,241 | $92K | 11.1% | 5.5% | 16% | B |
| 106 | Quincy MA | 103,173 | $99K | 10.6% | 6.9% | 14% | B |
| 107 | Escondido CA | 146,030 | $92K | 12.2% | 4.7% | 17% | B |
| 108 | Buckeye AZ | 125,445 | $99K | 8.0% | 4.9% | 8% | B |
| 109 | Perry Township IN | 123,439 | $67K | 12.8% | 2.9% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 241 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Escondido, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Escondido and its neighbors: 31% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Escondido workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escondido | – | B | A | 28 min | $91,967 |
| San Diego | 24% | B+ | A | 24 min | $108,077 |
| San Marcos | 7% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $109,377 |
| Harmony Grove | under 2% | A+ | B | 35 min | $227,140 |
| Del Dios | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Del Dios: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to San Diego. Darker towns draw more of Escondido’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 Escondido: questions
What is the median household income in Escondido?
$91,967 (±$3,679) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Escondido?
12.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Escondido?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Escondido work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (24%, 21 mi), San Marcos (7%, 6 mi), Carlsbad (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Escondido walkable?
Escondido is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Escondido without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Escondido, from the people who make the trip.
More of Escondido
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.