Most of Interlaken commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. Interlaken has 1,428 jobs for 3,015 working residents. Jobs and income earn Interlaken B−; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Interlaken apart
Interlaken makes and builds things
53% of the jobs based in Interlaken are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Interlaken residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
Interlaken and Watsonville trade workers both ways
Watsonville is the top workplace for Interlaken residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Interlaken come from (21% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Interlaken’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Interlaken is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #520 of 847 in California. Household income holds Interlaken’s grade up ($109,150, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Interlaken could be anywhere from C to A.
53% of the jobs in Interlaken make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Interlaken, 2013 → 2023: 1,328 → 1,428. 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 Interlaken’s own residents hold wherever they work.
19% of working residents work in Watsonville
Where Interlaken clocks in
19% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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 flow of workers through Interlaken
On a workday 2,889 residents head out to work, 126 work right here, and 1,302 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Interlaken on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
The daily trip from Interlaken: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Interlaken workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,738 commuters (the 13% 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.
Miles to work from Interlaken
About 18% 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.
Interlaken is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Interlaken is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #609 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 3,145 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 3.9% of Interlaken households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Interlaken’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Interlaken is 1,825th among 3,049 U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,823 | Cape Canaveral FL | 9,962 | $67K | 9.6% | 4.0% | 8% | B− |
| 1,824 | Pass Christian MS | 6,459 | $78K | 8.4% | 5.6% | 10% | B− |
| 1,825 | Interlaken CA | 8,068 | $109K | 14.9% | 5.7% | 4% | B− |
| 1,826 | South Haven IN | 7,241 | $76K | 12.7% | 5.5% | 1% | B− |
| 1,827 | Waveland MS | 7,042 | $69K | 10.8% | 3.4% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,049 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Interlaken, the top three, the last and three more from California.
19% of Interlaken works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Interlaken workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interlaken | – | B− | B | 26 min | $109,150 |
| Watsonville | 19% | C | A | 26 min | $78,393 |
| Corralitos | under 2% | A− | C− | 21 min | $171,113 |
| Amesti | under 2% | B− | C+ | 39 min | $108,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Watsonville. Darker towns draw more of Interlaken’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 Interlaken: questions
What is the median household income in Interlaken?
$109,150 (±$21,375) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Interlaken?
14.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Interlaken?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Interlaken work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Watsonville (19%, 2 mi), San Jose (8%, 25 mi), Santa Cruz (8%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Interlaken walkable?
Interlaken is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Interlaken without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Interlaken, from the people who make the trip.
More of Interlaken
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.