Monte Sereno ranks among the highest-earning U.S. towns by household income
Poverty touches 1.2% of residents, against 12.0% across California. Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. The two grades for Monte Sereno are A for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Monte Sereno, in brief
Monte Sereno and San Jose trade workers both ways
San Jose is the top workplace for Monte Sereno residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Monte Sereno come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Monte Sereno
28% of Monte Sereno workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Four in five Monte Sereno workers earn over $40,000 a year
81% of Monte Sereno’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 ↓
Monte Sereno is a place people come home to
There are 411 jobs based in Monte Sereno, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Monte Sereno has about 2,400 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Monte Sereno: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Monte Sereno is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #88 of 847 in California. Household income holds Monte Sereno’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Monte Sereno’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monte Sereno could be anywhere from A− to A+.
23% of working residents work in San Jose
Where Monte Sereno clocks in
23% 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.
The trip to work from Monte Sereno: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monte Sereno workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,015 commuters (the 28% 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.
69% of the jobs in Monte Sereno pay over $3,333 a month
411 jobs are based in Monte Sereno.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monte Sereno, 2013 → 2023: 378 → 411. 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 Monte Sereno’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Monte Sereno, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,502 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 361 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Monte Sereno on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Monte Sereno
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 Monte Sereno, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Monte Sereno is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #574 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 1,400 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 0.6% of Monte Sereno households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Monte Sereno’s commuters take a bus or train.
Monte Sereno next to U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800: 492nd of 4,355 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 490 | Madera Ranchos CA | 3,037 | $127K | 10.0% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| 491 | Christiana TN | 4,777 | $101K | 4.9% | 2.5% | <1% | A |
| 492 | Monte Sereno CA | 3,566 | $250K | 1.2% | 6.8% | 3% | A |
| 493 | Clay Township IN | 3,381 | $90K | 2.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A |
| 494 | Whiteford Township MI | 4,618 | $101K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Monte Sereno, the top three, the last and three more from California.
How Monte Sereno compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Los Gatos (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monte Sereno workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Sereno | – | A | B+ | 25 min | $250,000+ |
| Los Gatos | 6% | A | A | 28 min | $217,554 |
| Saratoga | under 3% | A+ | A− | 25 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monte Sereno’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Monte Sereno: questions
What is the median household income in Monte Sereno?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monte Sereno?
1.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monte Sereno?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monte Sereno work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Jose (23%, 10 mi), Santa Clara (7%, 9 mi), San Francisco (6%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monte Sereno walkable?
Monte Sereno is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monte Sereno without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monte Sereno, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monte Sereno
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.