Photo: Federico Pizano · CC BY 3.0Households in Martinez earn more than those in 91% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in San Francisco. Poverty touches 6.3% of residents, against 12.0% across California. Martinez grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Martinez and work: the main findings
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Martinez’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 82% of the jobs based in Martinez. The jobs ↓
Martinez’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Martinez is San Francisco, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (1,692) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 Martinez
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Martinez is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #183 of 847 in California. Household income holds Martinez’s grade up ($127,355, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Martinez could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Martinez
22,241 jobs are based in Martinez.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Martinez, 2013 → 2023: 19,285 → 22,241. 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 Martinez’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Martinez goes 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.
Who leaves Martinez for work, and who comes in
On a workday 14,177 residents head out to work, 1,847 work right here, and 20,394 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43,000 people are in Martinez on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
11% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Martinez clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
From Martinez, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Martinez workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,089 commuters (the 22% 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.
In Martinez, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Martinez is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #129 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Martinez 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 18,122 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 88% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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 Martinez households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Martinez’s commuters take a bus or train.
426th of 1,162: where Martinez ranks among U.S. towns of 26,000 to 50,000
| # | 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 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Newark CA | 47,895 | $169K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 424 | Indian Trail NC | 44,303 | $108K | 5.4% | 5.3% | 8% | A− |
| 425 | Springettsbury Township PA | 27,617 | $86K | 8.9% | 2.5% | 15% | A− |
| 426 | Martinez CA | 36,849 | $127K | 6.3% | 5.8% | 12% | A− |
| 427 | Saratoga Springs NY | 28,768 | $106K | 9.7% | 2.5% | 30% | A− |
| 428 | Pittsfield Township MI | 40,265 | $102K | 7.2% | 4.5% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | 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 Martinez, the top three, the last and three more from California.
How Martinez compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Pleasant Hill (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Martinez workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martinez | – | A− | A | 28 min | $127,355 |
| Mountain View | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $94,046 |
| Vine Hill | under 2% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $115,313 |
| Alhambra Valley | under 2% | — | — | 50 min | — |
| Pacheco | under 2% | B | A | 25 min | $101,210 |
| Pleasant Hill | 3% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $145,029 |
| Reliez Valley | under 2% | A− | A− | 29 min | $249,864 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alhambra Valley: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Martinez’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 Martinez: questions
What is the median household income in Martinez?
$127,355 (±$8,294) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Martinez?
6.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Martinez?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Martinez work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (11%, 23 mi), Concord (9%, 6 mi), Walnut Creek (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Martinez walkable?
Martinez is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Martinez without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Martinez, from the people who make the trip.
More of Martinez
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.