Patrick Rodgers Farm · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Pleasant Hill top those of 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.5 in San Francisco. 7.3% of residents are in poverty, where California as a whole has 12.0%. Jobs and income earn Pleasant Hill A−; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Pleasant Hill in brief
Pleasant Hill trades workers with the towns around it
Pleasant Hill has about as many jobs (13,599) as working residents (13,656), but they are mostly different people: 12,889 residents leave for work each day while 12,832 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Pleasant Hill are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Pleasant Hill
26% of Pleasant Hill workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Pleasant Hill’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pleasant Hill is San Francisco, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,629) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pleasant Hill draws workers from far and wide
The 13,599 jobs in Pleasant Hill are filled from a wide area. Pleasant Hill’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Three in four Pleasant Hill workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Pleasant Hill’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 ↓
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.
Inside Pleasant Hill’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pleasant Hill is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #142 of 847 in California. Household income holds Pleasant Hill’s grade up ($145,029, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, 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, Pleasant Hill could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Pleasant Hill by day and by night
On a workday 12,889 residents head out to work, 767 work right here, and 12,832 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).
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 30 minutes to work from Pleasant Hill
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasant Hill workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,859 commuters (the 26% 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.
Half of Pleasant Hill commutes less than 15 miles
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.
12% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Pleasant Hill 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.
Inside Pleasant Hill’s 13,599 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasant Hill, 2013 → 2023: 14,050 → 13,599. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pleasant Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Pleasant Hill 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, Pleasant Hill is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #51 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Pleasant Hill 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 17,420 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 93% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 4.9% of Pleasant Hill households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Pleasant Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Pleasant Hill is 392nd of 1,255 U.S. towns of 24,000 to 46,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Norwood MA | 31,714 | $107K | 8.8% | 3.6% | 12% | A− |
| 391 | Warminster Township PA | 33,254 | $96K | 7.2% | 3.7% | 9% | A− |
| 392 | Pleasant Hill CA | 34,017 | $145K | 7.3% | 4.8% | 6% | A− |
| 393 | Dover Township PA | 24,395 | $81K | 7.2% | 1.4% | 6% | A− |
| 394 | Alabaster AL | 34,748 | $91K | 7.1% | 2.5% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,255 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Pleasant Hill, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Pleasant Hill and its neighbors: 20% work next door
The biggest share goes to Concord (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasant Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Hill | – | A− | A+ | 30 min | $145,029 |
| Reliez Valley | under 3% | A− | A− | 29 min | $249,864 |
| Concord | 8% | B+ | A+ | 33 min | $108,709 |
| Walnut Creek | 8% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $130,432 |
| Pacheco | under 3% | B | A | 25 min | $101,210 |
| Martinez | 4% | A− | A | 28 min | $127,355 |
| Contra Costa Centre | under 3% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $121,313 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Hill’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 Pleasant Hill: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Hill?
$145,029 (±$13,104) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Hill?
7.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Hill?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Hill work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (12%, 23 mi), Concord (8%, 4 mi), Walnut Creek (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pleasant Hill walkable?
Pleasant Hill is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasant Hill without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasant Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Hill
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.