Photo: JaGa · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Santa Clara are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Santa Clara A−; getting around on foot earns it A+. 8.4% of residents are in poverty, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 7.6 in San Jose.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Santa Clara
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
83% of Santa Clara’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 86% of the jobs based in Santa Clara. The jobs ↓
A lot of Santa Clara works one town over
35% of working residents work in a town that borders Santa Clara: San Jose (20%), Sunnyvale (9%) and Cupertino (6%). Next door ↓
Santa Clara is where the jobs are
Santa Clara has 118,510 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 190,000 people are in town, 42% more than the 133,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Santa Clara residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 8% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Santa Clara works from home
26% of Santa Clara workers work from home, against 17% across California. 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.
Inside Santa Clara’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Santa Clara is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #152 of 847 in California. Household income holds Santa Clara’s grade up ($178,958, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, 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, Santa Clara could be anywhere from A− to A.
Santa Clara works in goods: 33% of its jobs
118,510 jobs are based in Santa Clara.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Santa Clara, 2013 → 2023: 90,422 → 118,510. 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 Santa Clara’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Santa Clara, and who commutes in
On a workday 53,500 residents head out to work, 8,694 work right here, and 109,816 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190,000 people are in Santa Clara on a workday afternoon, 42% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
How far Santa Clara goes to work
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.
About 23 minutes to work from Santa Clara
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Santa Clara workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 54,987 commuters (the 26% 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 the people who work in Santa Clara live
Where Santa Clara clocks in
20% of workers
9% 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.
In Santa Clara, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Santa Clara is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #63 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Santa Clara 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 73,978 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 5.8% of Santa Clara households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Santa Clara’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Santa Clara ranks: 48th of 284 U.S. towns of 93,000 to 180,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | San Mateo CA | 103,337 | $154K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Cambridge MA | 122,588 | $131K | 12.8% | 3.4% | 32% | A− |
| 47 | Sandy Springs GA | 105,013 | $104K | 8.5% | 4.0% | 15% | A− |
| 48 | Santa Clara CA | 133,446 | $179K | 8.4% | 5.1% | 14% | A− |
| 49 | Edmond OK | 100,479 | $103K | 8.1% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| 50 | Round Rock TX | 141,282 | $99K | 7.8% | 3.8% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 284 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Santa Clara, the top three, the last and three more from California.
35% of Santa Clara works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to San Jose (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Santa Clara workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | – | A− | A+ | 23 min | $178,958 |
| San Jose | 20% | A− | A | 27 min | $146,427 |
| Sunnyvale | 9% | A | A+ | 23 min | $186,170 |
| Cupertino | 6% | A | A | 24 min | $234,707 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Santa Clara’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 Santa Clara: questions
What is the median household income in Santa Clara?
$178,958 (±$8,034) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Santa Clara?
8.4%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Santa Clara?
23 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Santa Clara work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Jose (20%, 10 mi), Sunnyvale (9%, 4 mi), Mountain View (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Santa Clara walkable?
Santa Clara is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Santa Clara without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Santa Clara, from the people who make the trip.
More of Santa Clara
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.