Photo: Taylorj661 · Public domainSan Marcos’ household incomes are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 9.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 0.2 in San Diego. Poverty touches 9.2% of residents (California 12.0%). The two grades for San Marcos are 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
San Marcos and work: the main findings
San Marcos trades workers with the towns around it
San Marcos has about as many jobs (36,169) as working residents (40,959), but they are mostly different people: 35,551 residents leave for work each day while 30,761 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in San Marcos are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of San Marcos works one town over
25% of working residents work in a town that borders San Marcos: Carlsbad (11%), Escondido (6%) and Vista (5%). Next door ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in San Marcos
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, San Marcos is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #245 of 847 in California. Household income holds San Marcos’ grade up ($109,377, 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 Marcos could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
A workday in San Marcos: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 35,551 residents head out to work, 5,408 work right here, and 30,761 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 (0.88 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.
22% of working residents work in San Diego
Where San Marcos clocks in
22% of workers
11% of workers
6% 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 San Marcos’ employers do
36,169 jobs are based in San Marcos.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Marcos, 2013 → 2023: 29,189 → 36,169. 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 Marcos’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from San Marcos
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Marcos workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 36,308 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.
How many miles San Marcos commutes
About 21% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: San Marcos
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, San Marcos is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #418 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% 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 45,677 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 46% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 3.5% of San Marcos households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of San Marcos’ commuters take a bus or train.
163rd of 476: where San Marcos ranks among U.S. towns of 66,000 to 128,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Dublin CA | 71,602 | $214K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 29 | Mountain View CA | 85,438 | $190K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 161 | Wesley Chapel FL | 76,011 | $108K | 6.4% | 4.9% | 9% | B+ |
| 162 | Rogers AR | 76,956 | $87K | 10.5% | 2.5% | 28% | B+ |
| 163 | San Marcos CA | 94,908 | $109K | 9.2% | 4.6% | 13% | B+ |
| 164 | Richardson TX | 118,542 | $98K | 9.7% | 5.0% | 16% | B+ |
| 165 | Lyons Township IL | 112,345 | $93K | 9.4% | 4.8% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 476 | 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 San Marcos, the top three, the last and three more from California.
25% of San Marcos works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Carlsbad (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | San Marcos workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos | – | B+ | A− | 27 min | $109,377 |
| Escondido | 6% | B | A | 28 min | $91,967 |
| Carlsbad | 11% | A− | A− | 27 min | $142,748 |
| Vista | 5% | B | A− | 27 min | $94,975 |
| Lake San Marcos | under 2% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $89,851 |
| Harmony Grove | under 2% | A+ | B | 35 min | $227,140 |
| Elfin Forest | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Encinitas | 3% | A− | A | 25 min | $162,229 |
Same-state neighbors only. Elfin Forest: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of San Marcos’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 Marcos: questions
What is the median household income in San Marcos?
$109,377 (±$5,003) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Marcos?
9.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Marcos?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Marcos work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Diego (22%, 21 mi), Carlsbad (11%, 7 mi), Escondido (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Marcos walkable?
San Marcos is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Marcos without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Marcos, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Marcos
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.