Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Palo Alto are among the highest of any U.S. town
6.0% of residents live below the poverty line (California 12.0%). Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. The two grades for Palo Alto are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Palo Alto in brief
Palo Alto fills up on a workday
Palo Alto has 104,599 jobs, 3.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 144,000 people are in town, more than double the 68,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
85% of Palo Alto’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 89% of the jobs based in Palo Alto. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Palo Alto
35% of Palo Alto workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Palo Alto 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 ↓
The biggest group of Palo Alto’s workers comes from San Jose
14,962 of the people who work in Palo Alto live in San Jose, 19 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Palo Alto’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palo Alto is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #50 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($231,101, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Palo Alto could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Palo Alto
On a workday 23,551 residents head out to work, 4,478 work right here, and 100,121 people come in from elsewhere.
About 144,000 people are in Palo Alto on a workday afternoon, 113% more than live here.
3.7 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 2024, primary jobs.
Palo Alto is a services town
104,599 jobs are based in Palo Alto.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palo Alto, 2014 → 2024: 97,812 → 104,599. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palo Alto’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palo Alto workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,872 commuters (the 35% 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 daily trip into Palo Alto
Where Palo Alto clocks in
8% of workers
8% 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 commute from Palo Alto, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Palo Alto is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palo Alto is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #8 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Palo Alto 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 32,286 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, 66% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 15.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 8.5% of Palo Alto households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Palo Alto’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 47,000 to 91,000, Palo Alto ranks 62nd of 660 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bowie MD | 58,383 | $142K | 3.8% | 4.7% | 4% | A |
| 61 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| 62 | Palo Alto CA | 67,609 | $231K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 63 | Evesham Township NJ | 49,525 | $119K | 3.6% | 4.3% | 10% | A |
| 64 | Leesburg VA | 49,917 | $145K | 6.6% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 660 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 27% | 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 Palo Alto, the top three, the last and three more from California.
22% of Palo Alto works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Mountain View (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palo Alto workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | – | A | A+ | 21 min | $231,101 |
| Menlo Park | 6% | A | A+ | 24 min | $210,025 |
| Los Altos | under 3% | A | A+ | 22 min | $250,000+ |
| Mountain View | 8% | A | A+ | 23 min | $189,917 |
| Los Altos Hills | under 3% | A | B+ | 29 min | $250,000+ |
| East Palo Alto | under 3% | B+ | A | 24 min | $113,493 |
| Stanford | 8% | A | A+ | 15 min | $75,208 |
| Portola Valley | under 3% | A | B+ | 19 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palo Alto’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 2024, 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 Palo Alto: questions
What is the median household income in Palo Alto?
$231,101 (±$9,859) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palo Alto?
6.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palo Alto?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palo Alto work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stanford (8%, 2 mi), San Jose (8%, 19 mi), San Francisco (8%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Palo Alto walkable?
Palo Alto is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.4 out of 20, and 22% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palo Alto without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 66% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palo Alto, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palo Alto
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.