Photo: Catalinaschool · CC BY 4.0There are 2.4 jobs in Monterey for every working resident, and 21,775 people commute in
Measured by household income, Monterey is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Employers in Monterey report 24,631 jobs for 10,156 working residents. The two grades for Monterey are B 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 and commuting in Monterey, in brief
Monterey is where the jobs are
Monterey has 24,631 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 43,000 people are in town, 50% more than the 29,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Monterey are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
The biggest group of Monterey’s workers comes from Salinas
3,088 of the people who work in Monterey live in Salinas, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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 Monterey: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Monterey is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #426 of 847 in California. Household income holds Monterey’s grade up ($102,846, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monterey could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Monterey on a workday afternoon
On a workday 7,300 residents head out to work and 2,856 work right here.
About 43,000 people are in Monterey on a workday afternoon, 50% more than live here.
2.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 19 minutes each way for Monterey’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monterey workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,603 commuters (the 23% 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.
The towns that send workers to Monterey
Where Monterey clocks in
8% of workers
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.
Most jobs in Monterey are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monterey, 2013 → 2023: 20,577 → 24,631. 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 Monterey’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Monterey
About 28% 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.
Monterey is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Monterey is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #18 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Monterey 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 16,370 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 68% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.1% of Monterey households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Monterey’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Monterey is 871st of 1,467 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 869 | Crete Township IL | 23,439 | $80K | 9.0% | 6.2% | 6% | B |
| 870 | SeaTac WA | 34,578 | $81K | 9.3% | 7.0% | 16% | B |
| 871 | Monterey CA | 28,953 | $103K | 9.8% | 6.0% | 28% | B |
| 872 | Medina OH | 25,692 | $77K | 8.3% | 5.9% | 17% | B |
| 873 | Tucker GA | 37,290 | $80K | 10.6% | 6.5% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Monterey, the top three, the last and three more from California.
12% of Monterey works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Del Monte Forest (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monterey workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | – | B | A+ | 19 min | $102,846 |
| Del Monte Forest | 4% | B+ | A | 24 min | $142,763 |
| Seaside | 4% | C+ | A | 21 min | $85,311 |
| Del Rey Oaks | under 1% | A | B+ | 22 min | $134,500 |
| Pacific Grove | 4% | B | A+ | 22 min | $106,065 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monterey’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 Monterey: questions
What is the median household income in Monterey?
$102,846 (±$7,149) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monterey?
9.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monterey?
19 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monterey work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salinas (8%, 15 mi), Seaside (4%, 4 mi), Pacific Grove (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monterey walkable?
Monterey is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monterey without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 68% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monterey, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monterey
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.