Photo: Fruitianslip · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Oceano commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Jobs and income earn Oceano C+; getting around on foot earns it A−. 853 jobs are based in Oceano for 2,833 working residents. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Oceano: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Oceano are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Oceano is a place people come home to
There are 853 jobs based in Oceano, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Oceano has about 5,100 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Oceano has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Oceano went from 614 in 2013 to 853 in 2023, +39%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Oceano’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oceano is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #579 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Oceano’s grade up (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oceano could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Time on the road from Oceano: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oceano workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,696 commuters (the 16% 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.
A workday in Oceano: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,679 residents head out to work, 154 work right here, and 699 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Oceano on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Oceano works in goods: 28% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oceano, 2013 → 2023: 614 → 853. 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 Oceano’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of working residents work in San Luis Obispo
Where Oceano clocks in
18% of workers
9% 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.
How far it is to work from Oceano
About 23% 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.
In Oceano, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oceano is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #466 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 3,221 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, 65% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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 Oceano households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oceano’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Oceano ranks: 2,113th of 3,164 U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,111 | DuBois PA | 7,254 | $63K | 14.0% | 3.4% | 28% | C+ |
| 2,112 | Belle Fourche SD | 5,791 | $65K | 10.6% | 2.6% | 29% | C+ |
| 2,113 | Oceano CA | 7,128 | $72K | 17.2% | 4.1% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,114 | Fayette Township OH | 8,131 | $58K | 15.4% | 0.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,115 | Holtville AL | 5,158 | $77K | 13.0% | 4.9% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,164 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Oceano, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 15% of Oceano
The biggest share goes to Arroyo Grande (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oceano workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceano | – | C+ | A− | 21 min | $71,598 |
| Arroyo Grande | 9% | A− | A | 24 min | $102,553 |
| Grover Beach | 6% | B− | A | 20 min | $86,458 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oceano’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 Oceano: questions
What is the median household income in Oceano?
$71,598 (±$13,877) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oceano?
17.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oceano?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oceano work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Luis Obispo (18%, 12 mi), Arroyo Grande (9%, 2 mi), Santa Maria (8%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oceano walkable?
Oceano is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oceano without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 65% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oceano, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oceano
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.