Live Oak’s household incomes are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 12.9%, against 12.0% across California. Live Oak grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Live Oak apart
Live Oak trades workers with the towns around it
Live Oak has about as many jobs (7,599) as working residents (6,656), but they are mostly different people: 5,955 residents leave for work each day while 6,898 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Live Oak are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Live Oak works one town over
29% of working residents work in a town that borders Live Oak: Santa Cruz (21%), Capitola (5%) and Soquel (3%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Live Oak are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Live Oak pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Live Oak 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Live Oak
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Live Oak is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #389 of 847 in California. Household income holds Live Oak’s grade up ($103,674, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Live Oak could be anywhere from B− to A−.
How a workday changes Live Oak
On a workday 5,955 residents head out to work, 701 work right here, and 6,898 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 (1.14 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 trip to work from Live Oak: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Live Oak workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,536 commuters (the 16% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
7,599 jobs are based in Live Oak.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Live Oak, 2013 → 2023: 7,227 → 7,599. 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 Live Oak’s own residents hold wherever they work.
21% of working residents work in Santa Cruz
Where Live Oak clocks in
21% of workers
6% 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.
How many miles Live Oak commutes
About 19% 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.
Live Oak is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Live Oak is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #77 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Live Oak 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 8,924 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 5.5% of Live Oak households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Live Oak’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Live Oak is 1,059th of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Coto de Caza CA | 15,190 | $244K | 3.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,057 | Ithaca NY | 20,670 | $106K | 9.3% | 4.5% | 38% | B |
| 1,058 | South Milwaukee WI | 20,191 | $73K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 7% | B |
| 1,059 | Live Oak CA | 16,911 | $104K | 12.9% | 4.1% | 11% | B |
| 1,060 | Dixon CA | 21,116 | $103K | 10.2% | 5.9% | 13% | B |
| 1,061 | Auburndale FL | 21,369 | $78K | 9.6% | 3.5% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Live Oak, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Live Oak and its neighbors: 29% work next door
The biggest share goes to Santa Cruz (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Live Oak workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Oak | – | B | A+ | 22 min | $103,674 |
| Santa Cruz | 21% | B+ | A+ | 23 min | $115,475 |
| Capitola | 5% | B+ | A+ | 23 min | $102,976 |
| Soquel | 3% | B | A | 23 min | $118,777 |
| Twin Lakes | under 2% | B | A+ | 21 min | $90,087 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Live Oak’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 Live Oak: questions
What is the median household income in Live Oak?
$103,674 (±$9,788) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Live Oak?
12.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Live Oak?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Live Oak work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Cruz (21%, 3 mi), San Jose (6%, 23 mi), Capitola (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Live Oak walkable?
Live Oak is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Live Oak without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Live Oak, from the people who make the trip.
More of Live Oak
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.