Photo: Evanthomas1 at English Wikipedia · Public domainManhattan Beach has higher household incomes than 98% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 4.5% (California 12.0%). For jobs and income Manhattan Beach is better than 96% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Manhattan Beach apart on work
A lot of Manhattan Beach works from home
39% of Manhattan Beach workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Manhattan Beach and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for Manhattan Beach residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Manhattan Beach come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Three in four Manhattan Beach workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Manhattan Beach’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. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Manhattan Beach
Household income is its strongest input ($204,306, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, 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, Manhattan Beach could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Manhattan Beach, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manhattan Beach workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,868 commuters (the 39% 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.
29% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Manhattan Beach clocks in
4% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Manhattan Beach
18,233 jobs are based in Manhattan Beach.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manhattan Beach, 2013 → 2023: 16,649 → 18,233. 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 Manhattan Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Manhattan Beach, and who commutes in
On a workday 12,076 residents head out to work, 1,155 work right here, and 17,078 people come in from elsewhere.
About 38,000 people are in Manhattan Beach on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 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 distance from Manhattan Beach to work
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.
In Manhattan Beach, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,206 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 54% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 2.6% of Manhattan Beach households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Manhattan Beach’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Manhattan Beach ranks: 87th of 1,315 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 45,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Wilmette IL | 27,459 | $191K | 3.2% | 4.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 86 | Holladay UT | 31,162 | $117K | 4.1% | 2.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 87 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 88 | Jacksonville Beach FL | 23,615 | $121K | 4.8% | 1.8% | 14% | A+ |
| 89 | Park Ridge IL | 38,463 | $143K | 2.9% | 4.2% | 10% | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Los Altos CA | 30,965 | $250K | 3.2% | 4.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,315 | 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 Manhattan Beach, the top three, the last and three more from California.
11% of Manhattan Beach works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to El Segundo (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manhattan Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Beach | – | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $204,306 |
| El Segundo | 8% | A | A+ | 24 min | $150,737 |
| Hermosa Beach | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $166,442 |
| Redondo Beach | 3% | A | A | 27 min | $150,245 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Manhattan Beach’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 Manhattan Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Manhattan Beach?
$204,306 (±$20,391) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manhattan Beach?
4.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manhattan Beach?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 39% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manhattan Beach work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (29%, 9 mi), El Segundo (8%, 1 mi), Torrance (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Manhattan Beach walkable?
Manhattan Beach is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manhattan Beach without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 54% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Manhattan Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manhattan Beach
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.