Photo: Kiddo27 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Pleasanton earn more than those in 98% of U.S. towns
5.3% of residents are in poverty, against 12.0% across California. Pleasanton grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in San Francisco.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Pleasanton apart on work
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
80% of Pleasanton’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 78% of the jobs based in Pleasanton. The jobs ↓
Pleasanton is where the jobs are
Pleasanton has 61,125 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Pleasanton
29% of Pleasanton workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Pleasanton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pleasanton is San Francisco, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (3,099) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pleasanton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across California. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Pleasanton gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pleasanton is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #87 of 847 in California. Household income holds Pleasanton’s grade up ($190,124, 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, Pleasanton could be anywhere from A− to A+.
78% of the jobs in Pleasanton pay over $3,333 a month
61,125 jobs are based in Pleasanton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasanton, 2013 → 2023: 53,044 → 61,125. 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 Pleasanton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Pleasanton on a workday
On a workday 30,609 residents head out to work, 5,455 work right here, and 55,670 people come in from elsewhere.
About 100,000 people are in Pleasanton on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.7 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 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Pleasanton: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasanton workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26,661 commuters (the 29% 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.
Where in the region Pleasanton works
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.
The towns that send workers to Pleasanton
Where Pleasanton clocks in
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Pleasanton
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 37,592 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, 88% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 4.0% of Pleasanton households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Pleasanton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pleasanton places 90th of 599 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 52,000 to 101,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Horizon West FL | 67,416 | $127K | 7.3% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| 89 | Severn MD | 58,402 | $134K | 5.7% | 4.6% | 5% | A |
| 90 | Pleasanton CA | 74,556 | $190K | 5.3% | 4.8% | 15% | A |
| 91 | Lower Paxton Township PA | 55,564 | $92K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 14% | A |
| 92 | Macomb Township MI | 95,099 | $121K | 4.4% | 4.4% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Pleasanton, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Pleasanton: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Livermore (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasanton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasanton | – | A | A+ | 34 min | $190,124 |
| Dublin | 3% | A | A+ | 36 min | $214,385 |
| Sunol | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Livermore | 5% | A | A | 30 min | $160,775 |
| Hayward | under 3% | B+ | A | 32 min | $113,318 |
Same-state neighbors only. Sunol: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pleasanton’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 Pleasanton: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasanton?
$190,124 (±$9,119) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasanton?
5.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasanton?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasanton work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (9%, 31 mi), San Jose (8%, 26 mi), Livermore (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pleasanton walkable?
Pleasanton is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.9 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasanton without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 88% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasanton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasanton
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.