Photo: en:User:Squirrel 22 · Public domainHouseholds in Sausalito have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 8.0% of residents, against 12.0% across California. Sausalito grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 9.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in San Francisco.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Sausalito apart
A lot of Sausalito works from home
46% of Sausalito workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
79% of Sausalito’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 73% of the jobs based in Sausalito. The jobs ↓
Sausalito and San Francisco trade workers both ways
San Francisco is the top workplace for Sausalito residents (38%) and also where the most people who work in Sausalito come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Sausalito is where the jobs are
Sausalito has 4,316 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most Sausalito residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Sausalito’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sausalito is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #285 of 847 in California. Household income holds Sausalito’s grade up ($182,357, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Sausalito could be anywhere from B to A.
Getting to work from Sausalito takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sausalito workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,224 commuters (the 45% 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.
73% of the jobs in Sausalito pay over $3,333 a month
4,316 jobs are based in Sausalito.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sausalito, 2013 → 2023: 5,050 → 4,316. 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 Sausalito’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Sausalito live
Where Sausalito clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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 and out of Sausalito on a workday
On a workday 2,491 residents head out to work, 281 work right here, and 4,035 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,600 people are in Sausalito on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.6 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 Sausalito 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.
Sausalito is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sausalito is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #9 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Sausalito 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 4,077 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 4.7% of Sausalito households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Sausalito’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,143rd of 3,227: where Sausalito ranks among U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,141 | Carlstadt NJ | 6,410 | $115K | 9.0% | 7.5% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,142 | Center Township PA | 7,778 | $91K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,143 | Sausalito CA | 7,019 | $182K | 8.0% | 8.0% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,144 | Godley TX | 5,093 | $110K | 7.6% | 5.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,145 | Falls Township OH | 8,690 | $75K | 7.7% | 1.3% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,227 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Sausalito, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns around Sausalito
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sausalito workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sausalito | – | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $182,357 |
| Tamalpais-Homestead Valley | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $243,227 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sausalito’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 Sausalito: questions
What is the median household income in Sausalito?
$182,357 (±$14,313) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sausalito?
8.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sausalito?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 46% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sausalito work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (38%, 7 mi), San Rafael (5%, 8 mi), Oakland (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sausalito walkable?
Sausalito is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.5 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sausalito without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sausalito, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sausalito
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.