Photo: Gary gary gary at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Hillsborough’s
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Below the poverty line: 5.0% of residents (California 12.0%). The two grades for Hillsborough are 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
The short version on getting to work from Hillsborough
Home offices are common in Hillsborough
36% of Hillsborough workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
81% of Hillsborough’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 75% of the jobs based in Hillsborough. The jobs ↓
Hillsborough and San Francisco trade workers both ways
San Francisco is the top workplace for Hillsborough residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Hillsborough come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Hillsborough is services
92% 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 ↓
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 Hillsborough’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hillsborough is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #148 of 847 in California. Household income holds Hillsborough’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (7.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Hillsborough’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hillsborough could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Hillsborough
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hillsborough workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,941 commuters (the 36% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Hillsborough
2,092 jobs are based in Hillsborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hillsborough, 2013 → 2023: 1,590 → 2,092. 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 Hillsborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Hillsborough clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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 daily commute in and out of Hillsborough
On a workday 4,053 residents head out to work, 167 work right here, and 1,925 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,100 people are in Hillsborough on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.50 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Hillsborough
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 Hillsborough: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hillsborough is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #535 of 847 in California. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.1% across California, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,619 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.0% of Hillsborough households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Hillsborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Hillsborough ranks: 660th of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 658 | Atlantic Beach FL | 13,245 | $119K | 7.7% | 3.2% | 8% | A− |
| 659 | Fairview CA | 10,745 | $149K | 4.4% | 6.4% | 1% | A− |
| 660 | Hillsborough CA | 11,206 | $250K | 5.0% | 7.0% | 4% | A− |
| 661 | New Baltimore MI | 12,123 | $106K | 5.4% | 4.2% | 4% | A− |
| 662 | Butler NJ | 8,184 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.1% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Hillsborough, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Hillsborough and its neighbors: 12% work next door
The biggest share goes to San Mateo (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hillsborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough | – | A− | B+ | 27 min | $250,000+ |
| Burlingame | 5% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $174,000 |
| San Mateo | 7% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $153,504 |
| Baywood Park | under 3% | A+ | B | 26 min | $217,206 |
| Highlands | under 3% | A | A− | 24 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hillsborough’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Hillsborough: questions
What is the median household income in Hillsborough?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hillsborough?
5.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hillsborough?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hillsborough work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (23%, 15 mi), San Mateo (7%, 3 mi), South San Francisco (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hillsborough walkable?
Hillsborough is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hillsborough without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hillsborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hillsborough
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.