Photo: JPRoy2101 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of San Miguel commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Employers in San Miguel report 207 jobs for 1,126 working residents. For jobs and income San Miguel is better than 25% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). Only 2% stay in San Miguel for work; outside it, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) is the main destination (23%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
San Miguel at work: what stands out
San Miguel and El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) trade workers both ways
El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) is the top workplace for San Miguel residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in San Miguel come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
San Miguel is a place people come home to
There are 207 jobs based in San Miguel, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday San Miguel has about 2,300 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Where San Miguel’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income holds San Miguel’s grade up ($95,458, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (27.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, San Miguel could be anywhere from D to A−.
The towns that employ San Miguel’s residents
Where San Miguel clocks in
23% of workers
7% 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.
San Miguel quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,109 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 190 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in San Miguel on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How many miles San Miguel commutes
About 33% 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.
The kinds of work in San Miguel
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Miguel, 2013 → 2023: 188 → 207. 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 Miguel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from San Miguel: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Miguel workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,231 commuters (the 10% 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 Miguel, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,367 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 98% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 52% 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). 5.0% of San Miguel households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of San Miguel’s commuters take a bus or train.
San Miguel places 3,375th of 4,453 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Ross CA | 2,304 | $250K | 4.8% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,373 | Mount Olive Township IL | 3,019 | $63K | 12.6% | 6.1% | 6% | C− |
| 3,374 | Snyder Township PA | 2,304 | $70K | 9.9% | 7.3% | 17% | C− |
| 3,375 | San Miguel CA | 3,227 | $95K | 27.0% | 5.9% | 2% | C− |
| 3,376 | Fulton IL | 3,540 | $46K | 14.8% | 4.8% | 17% | C− |
| 3,377 | Hardin MT | 3,696 | $60K | 7.2% | 5.6% | 46% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Miguel, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Miguel: questions
What is the median household income in San Miguel?
$95,458 (±$24,161) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Miguel?
27.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Miguel?
28 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Miguel work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) (23%, 9 mi), Atascadero (8%, 18 mi), San Luis Obispo (7%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is San Miguel walkable?
San Miguel is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around San Miguel without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 98% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Miguel, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Miguel
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.