Photo: sebi ryffel from Los Angeles · CC BY-SA 2.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as San Marino’s
6.7% of residents are in poverty, where California as a whole has 12.0%. Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. For jobs and income San Marino is better than 86% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in San Marino, in a few figures
San Marino and Los Angeles trade workers both ways
Los Angeles is the top workplace for San Marino residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in San Marino come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in San Marino
28% of San Marino workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in San Marino is services
88% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind San Marino’s Jobs & income grade
Household income holds San Marino’s grade up ($214,167, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, 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 Marino could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
23% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where San Marino clocks in
9% of workers
4% 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.
About 27 minutes each way for San Marino’s commuters
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 Marino workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,618 commuters (the 28% 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.
In San Marino, services account for most jobs
3,515 jobs are based in San Marino.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Marino, 2014 → 2024: 3,294 → 3,515. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs San Marino’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves San Marino for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,222 residents head out to work, 319 work right here, and 3,196 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 (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
San Marino’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
San Marino is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,055 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 88% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 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). 0.4% of San Marino households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of San Marino’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000, San Marino comes 599th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Alamo CA | 14,488 | $250K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 597 | Big Lake MN | 12,929 | $121K | 5.6% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| 598 | Macedonia OH | 12,147 | $101K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 5% | A |
| 599 | San Marino CA | 11,964 | $214K | 6.7% | 5.3% | 7% | A |
| 600 | Woodmoor CO | 8,934 | $172K | 2.3% | 4.5% | 8% | A |
| 601 | Mayo MD | 8,694 | $155K | 4.6% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Marino, the top three, the last and three more from California.
San Marino and its neighbors: 15% work next door
The biggest share goes to Pasadena (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | San Marino workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Marino | – | A | A | 27 min | $214,167 |
| Pasadena | 9% | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $105,192 |
| San Gabriel | 2% | B+ | A | 28 min | $90,488 |
| East San Gabriel | under 2% | B+ | A | 30 min | $108,677 |
| San Pasqual | under 2% | A+ | A | 33 min | $123,317 |
| South Pasadena | under 2% | A | A+ | 30 min | $127,175 |
| Alhambra | 4% | B | A | 30 min | $88,024 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of San Marino’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 2024, 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 Marino: questions
What is the median household income in San Marino?
$214,167 (±$27,617) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Marino?
6.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Marino?
27 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Marino work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (23%, 18 mi), Pasadena (9%, 3 mi), Alhambra (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is San Marino walkable?
San Marino is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Marino without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Marino, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Marino
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.