Photo: User:Serouj · Public domainMillbrae has higher household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.5 in San Francisco. 6.0% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.0% across California. Millbrae 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
Work in Millbrae, in a few figures
Millbrae and San Francisco trade workers both ways
San Francisco is the top workplace for Millbrae residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Millbrae come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Millbrae
79% of Millbrae residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 55% of the jobs based in Millbrae pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. 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.
Why Millbrae gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Millbrae is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #133 of 847 in California. Household income holds Millbrae’s grade up ($163,476, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.7%, 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, Millbrae could be anywhere from B+ to A.
22% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Millbrae clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
What work there is in Millbrae: 4,624 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Millbrae, 2013 → 2023: 4,278 → 4,624. 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 Millbrae’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Millbrae, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 8,804 residents head out to work, 544 work right here, and 4,080 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Millbrae on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
Millbrae’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Millbrae workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,718 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.
How far Millbrae 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Millbrae
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Millbrae is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #157 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Millbrae 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 11,212 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 9% 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 7.8% of Millbrae households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Millbrae’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Millbrae is 478th among 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 149 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 476 | Waxhaw NC | 23,140 | $132K | 4.5% | 4.9% | 6% | A− |
| 477 | Camp Springs MD | 22,544 | $120K | 7.2% | 4.7% | 1% | A− |
| 478 | Millbrae CA | 22,869 | $163K | 6.0% | 5.7% | 6% | A− |
| 479 | Agoura Hills CA | 19,243 | $171K | 6.5% | 5.2% | 6% | A− |
| 480 | Wilton NY | 17,643 | $99K | 4.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 Millbrae, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Millbrae: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Burlingame (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Millbrae workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millbrae | – | A− | A | 29 min | $163,476 |
| San Bruno | 2% | A | A | 24 min | $141,272 |
| Burlingame | 6% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $174,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Millbrae’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 Millbrae: questions
What is the median household income in Millbrae?
$163,476 (±$11,394) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Millbrae?
6.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Millbrae?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Millbrae work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (22%, 12 mi), South San Francisco (8%, 4 mi), San Mateo (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Millbrae walkable?
Millbrae is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Millbrae without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Millbrae, from the people who make the trip.
More of Millbrae
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.