Photo: Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in San Clemente are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 5.8% of residents (California 12.0%). The two grades for San Clemente are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in five work in San Clemente itself; outside it, Irvine draws the most (10%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Inside San Clemente’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Clemente is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #133 of 847 in California. Household income holds San Clemente’s grade up ($140,062, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, 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, San Clemente could be anywhere from A− to A.
Who commutes out of San Clemente, and who commutes in
On a workday 20,307 residents head out to work, 4,600 work right here, and 15,558 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 (0.81 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.
Where people from San Clemente work
Where San Clemente clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
What work there is in San Clemente: 20,158 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Clemente, 2013 → 2023: 18,018 → 20,158. 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 San Clemente’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long San Clemente spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Clemente workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,328 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.
How far it is to work from San Clemente
About 20% 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 San Clemente, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Clemente is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #570 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 30,221 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 3.1% of San Clemente households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of San Clemente’s commuters take a bus or train.
San Clemente next to U.S. towns of 44,000 to 84,000: 188th of 704 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Cupertino CA | 58,333 | $235K | 4.1% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | South San Francisco CA | 64,941 | $137K | 6.7% | 2.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 186 | Monroe Township NJ | 49,830 | $108K | 3.7% | 5.3% | 6% | A− |
| 187 | Beavercreek OH | 48,134 | $110K | 6.9% | 3.6% | 16% | A− |
| 188 | San Clemente CA | 62,226 | $140K | 5.8% | 4.6% | 18% | A− |
| 189 | Encinitas CA | 60,736 | $162K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 15% | A− |
| 190 | Blaine MN | 76,603 | $107K | 7.2% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 704 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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 San Clemente, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door to San Clemente
The biggest share goes to San Juan Capistrano (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | San Clemente workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Clemente | – | A− | B+ | 29 min | $140,062 |
| San Juan Capistrano | 5% | A | A | 27 min | $129,457 |
| Dana Point | 3% | A | A | 30 min | $141,520 |
| Rancho Mission Viejo | under 2% | A | C+ | 29 min | $192,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of San Clemente’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 San Clemente: questions
What is the median household income in San Clemente?
$140,062 (±$10,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Clemente?
5.8%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Clemente?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Clemente work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Irvine (10%, 18 mi), Los Angeles (6%, 60 mi), San Juan Capistrano (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Clemente walkable?
San Clemente is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Clemente without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Clemente, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Clemente
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.