Households in Seacliff earn more than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Seacliff grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 5.5% of residents, next to 12.0% across California. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Seacliff
Seacliff is a place people come home to
There are 376 jobs based in Seacliff, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Seacliff has about 2,400 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Seacliff are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. 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.
Why Seacliff gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seacliff is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #209 of 847 in California. Household income holds Seacliff’s grade up ($130,385, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, 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, Seacliff could be anywhere from B to A+.
Who works in Seacliff, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,197 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 337 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Seacliff on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.30 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.
About 24 minutes to work from Seacliff
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seacliff workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,823 commuters (the 12% 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.
16% of working residents work in Santa Cruz
Where Seacliff clocks in
16% 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.
The kinds of work in Seacliff
376 jobs are based in Seacliff.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seacliff, 2013 → 2023: 427 → 376. 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 Seacliff’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Seacliff works
About 20% 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.
Seacliff is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seacliff is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #427 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 2,064 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, 62% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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 Seacliff households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Seacliff’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Seacliff ranks: 962nd of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Ross CA | 2,304 | $250K | 4.8% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 960 | Hatfield MA | 3,286 | $89K | 8.9% | 1.6% | 12% | A− |
| 961 | Middleton Township OH | 3,244 | $87K | 6.4% | 2.0% | 1% | A− |
| 962 | Seacliff CA | 3,299 | $130K | 5.5% | 4.9% | 3% | A− |
| 963 | Meadow Vista CA | 3,162 | $101K | 4.8% | 2.4% | 5% | A− |
| 964 | Big Sky MT | 2,445 | $139K | 4.7% | 1.4% | 68% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | 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 Seacliff, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door to Seacliff
The biggest share goes to Capitola (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Seacliff workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seacliff | – | A− | A− | 24 min | $130,385 |
| Capitola | 4% | B+ | A+ | 23 min | $102,976 |
| Rio del Mar | under 4% | A− | B+ | 30 min | $159,929 |
| Aptos | 3% | B+ | A | 25 min | $134,048 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Seacliff’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 Seacliff: questions
What is the median household income in Seacliff?
$130,385 (±$22,672) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seacliff?
5.5%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seacliff?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seacliff work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Cruz (16%, 6 mi), San Jose (6%, 23 mi), Live Oak (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seacliff walkable?
Seacliff is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seacliff without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 62% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seacliff, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seacliff
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.