Photo: Doug Donaldson · CC BY 2.0How San Simeon works: jobs, income and commuting
Only 4% stay in San Simeon for work; outside it, San Luis Obispo is the main destination (17%, 36 miles). 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 17% across California. Commuters spend 14 minutes getting to work on average; the California average is 29, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where San Simeon stands out on work
San Simeon’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside San Simeon is San Luis Obispo, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (39) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from San Simeon are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 115 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Few San Simeon workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 231 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of San Simeon commutes less than 36 miles
About 31% 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.
Time on the road from San Simeon: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Simeon workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 135 commuters (the 0% 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.
Who works in San Simeon, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 222 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 138 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in San Simeon on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.64 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of San Simeon to work: where people go
Where San Simeon clocks in
17% of workers
10% 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.
Services make up most of the work in San Simeon
147 jobs are based in San Simeon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Simeon, 2013 → 2023: 204 → 147. 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 Simeon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Simeon: questions
What is the median household income in San Simeon?
$54,625 (±$10,560) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Simeon?
6.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Simeon?
14 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Simeon work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Luis Obispo (17%, 36 mi), Cambria (10%, 6 mi), Morro Bay (6%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around San Simeon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from San Simeon, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Simeon
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.