Saratoga Foothill Club · Photo: EugeneZelenko · CC BY-SA 4.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Saratoga’s
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. Poverty touches 3.3% of residents, against 12.0% across California. Jobs and income earn Saratoga A+; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Saratoga apart
A lot of Saratoga works from home
37% of Saratoga workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Four in five Saratoga workers earn over $40,000 a year
84% of Saratoga’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. The jobs based in Saratoga itself pay less: 64% are in that band. The jobs ↓
Saratoga and San Jose trade workers both ways
San Jose is the top workplace for Saratoga residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Saratoga come from (34% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Saratoga is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
Why Saratoga gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saratoga is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #20 of 847 in California. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
The Census reports Saratoga’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saratoga could be anywhere from A to A+.
Time on the road from Saratoga: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saratoga workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,293 commuters (the 37% 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 Saratoga, services account for most jobs
6,449 jobs are based in Saratoga.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saratoga, 2013 → 2023: 6,498 → 6,449. 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 Saratoga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
20% of working residents work in San Jose
Where Saratoga clocks in
20% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
Saratoga quiets down on a workday
On a workday 12,289 residents head out to work, 604 work right here, and 5,845 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Saratoga on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.50 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Saratoga
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.
Saratoga is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saratoga is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #374 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 13,249 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 72% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 1.1% of Saratoga households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Saratoga’s commuters take a bus or train.
Saratoga places 105th of 1,415 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 21,000 to 41,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Syracuse UT | 39,909 | $133K | 4.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 104 | Winchester MA | 23,710 | $230K | 4.7% | 3.8% | 7% | A+ |
| 105 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| 106 | Lower Macungie Township PA | 33,507 | $125K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 107 | Palmetto Bay FL | 24,886 | $142K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 159 | Los Altos CA | 30,965 | $250K | 3.2% | 4.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,415 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Saratoga, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 28% of Saratoga
The biggest share goes to San Jose (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saratoga workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saratoga | – | A+ | A− | 25 min | $250,000+ |
| Monte Sereno | under 3% | A | B+ | 25 min | $250,000+ |
| San Jose | 20% | A− | A | 27 min | $146,427 |
| Los Gatos | under 3% | A | A | 28 min | $217,554 |
| Cupertino | 8% | A | A | 24 min | $234,707 |
| Campbell | under 3% | A | A | 23 min | $145,268 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saratoga’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Saratoga: questions
What is the median household income in Saratoga?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saratoga?
3.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saratoga?
25 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 37% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saratoga work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Jose (20%, 12 mi), Santa Clara (9%, 7 mi), Sunnyvale (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saratoga walkable?
Saratoga is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saratoga without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saratoga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saratoga
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.