Photo: John Wiley User:Jw4nvc - Santa Barbara, California · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Goleta are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Goleta grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 9.3% of residents (California 12.0%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 2.4 in Santa Maria.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Goleta: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Goleta works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Goleta: Santa Barbara (29%), Eastern Goleta Valley (6%) and University of California-Santa Barbara (6%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Goleta are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Goleta is where the jobs are
Goleta has 21,346 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Goleta pay over $40,000 a year
75% of the jobs based in Goleta pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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 Goleta’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Goleta is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #282 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($122,370, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Goleta could be anywhere from B to A−.
Commuting from Goleta: about 18 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Goleta workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,612 commuters (the 18% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Goleta
On a workday 9,910 residents head out to work, 3,199 work right here, and 18,147 people come in from elsewhere.
About 41,000 people are in Goleta on a workday afternoon, 25% more than live here.
1.6 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.
75% of the jobs in Goleta pay over $3,333 a month
21,346 jobs are based in Goleta.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Goleta, 2013 → 2023: 19,458 → 21,346. 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 Goleta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Goleta: where workers come from
Where Goleta clocks in
29% 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 it is to work from Goleta
About 22% 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.
Goleta is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Goleta is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #155 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Goleta near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 17,909 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 27% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 4.8% of Goleta households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Goleta’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Goleta ranks: 604th of 1,283 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 602 | Marion IA | 42,732 | $87K | 8.1% | 3.6% | 15% | B+ |
| 603 | Deer Park TX | 34,282 | $100K | 9.1% | 5.8% | 14% | B+ |
| 604 | Goleta CA | 32,401 | $122K | 9.3% | 4.2% | 24% | B+ |
| 605 | Madison Heights MI | 28,297 | $70K | 10.8% | 2.8% | 7% | B+ |
| 606 | La Vergne TN | 42,146 | $81K | 15.1% | 2.2% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | 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 Goleta, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 41% of Goleta
The biggest share goes to Santa Barbara (29%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Goleta workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goleta | – | B+ | A | 18 min | $122,370 |
| Eastern Goleta Valley | 6% | A− | A | 15 min | $146,284 |
| Santa Barbara | 29% | B | A | 17 min | $106,182 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | 6% | B | A+ | 14 min | $69,327 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Goleta’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 Goleta: questions
What is the median household income in Goleta?
$122,370 (±$8,547) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Goleta?
9.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Goleta?
18 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Goleta work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Barbara (29%, 9 mi), Eastern Goleta Valley (6%, 4 mi), University of California-Santa Barbara (6%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Goleta walkable?
Goleta is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Goleta without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Goleta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Goleta
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.