Photo: Dirk Hansen · CC BY-SA 3.0San Diego’s household incomes are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 0.0 in Chula Vista. Poverty touches 11.0% of residents, where California as a whole has 12.0%. San Diego grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in San Diego
Most jobs in San Diego go to people who live here
Of the 793,911 jobs based in San Diego, 46% are held by San Diego residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from San Diego are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical California 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.
Income, poverty and work: San Diego’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Diego is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #326 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds San Diego’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, San Diego stays B+.
The workday shuffle in and out of San Diego
On a workday 235,797 residents head out to work, 365,926 work right here, and 427,985 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,598,000 people are in San Diego on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 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.
The trip to work from San Diego: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Diego workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 575,838 commuters (the 21% 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 San Diego goes to work
Where San Diego clocks in
4% of workers
2% 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.
70% of the jobs in San Diego pay over $3,333 a month
793,911 jobs are based in San Diego.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Diego, 2013 → 2023: 678,094 → 793,911. 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 Diego’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region San Diego works
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 Diego, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Diego is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #111 of 847 in California. Both inputs place San Diego 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 730,907 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 75% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 35% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 6.6% of San Diego households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of San Diego’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How San Diego compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Chula Vista (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | San Diego workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | – | B+ | A | 24 min | $108,077 |
| Poway | 2% | A− | A− | 25 min | $148,359 |
| Santee | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $113,394 |
| Escondido | under 2% | B | A | 28 min | $91,967 |
| Lemon Grove | under 2% | B+ | A | 29 min | $88,009 |
| La Mesa | 1% | B | A | 24 min | $95,028 |
| Coronado | under 2% | A | A+ | 18 min | $134,534 |
| National City | 1% | C+ | A+ | 25 min | $66,841 |
| Chula Vista | 4% | B+ | A | 29 min | $108,032 |
| Imperial Beach | under 2% | B− | A+ | 27 min | $86,111 |
| La Presa | under 2% | B | A− | 27 min | $93,479 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of San Diego’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 Diego: questions
What is the median household income in San Diego?
$108,077 (±$1,463) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Diego?
11.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Diego?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Diego work?
61% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chula Vista (4%, 15 mi), Los Angeles (3%, 111 mi), Poway (2%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Diego walkable?
San Diego is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Diego without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 35% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Diego, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Diego
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.