Photo: Stephen Gold · Public domainAt 6.0%, unemployment in Sebastopol is higher than in 74% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 1.0 in Santa Rosa. The two grades for Sebastopol are B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. 30% of workers have no commute at all, next to 17% for California as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sebastopol, in a few figures
Sebastopol and Santa Rosa trade workers both ways
Santa Rosa is the top workplace for Sebastopol residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Sebastopol come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Sebastopol
30% of Sebastopol workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Sebastopol 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.
Sebastopol’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sebastopol is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #457 of 847 in California. Household income holds Sebastopol’s grade up ($87,684, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sebastopol could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
21% of working residents work in Santa Rosa
Where Sebastopol clocks in
21% of workers
5% 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.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of California
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sebastopol workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,407 commuters (the 30% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Sebastopol
On a workday 2,617 residents head out to work, 334 work right here, and 3,595 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,500 people are in Sebastopol on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Sebastopol: 3,929 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sebastopol, 2013 → 2023: 4,222 → 3,929. 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 Sebastopol’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Sebastopol’s workers travel
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.
In Sebastopol, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sebastopol is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #71 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Sebastopol 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 3,420 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 11.1% of Sebastopol households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Sebastopol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sebastopol next to U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,200: 1,609th of 3,071 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,607 | South Beloit IL | 7,996 | $79K | 8.0% | 5.9% | 7% | B |
| 1,608 | Robertsdale AL | 7,761 | $59K | 11.1% | 0.3% | 9% | B |
| 1,609 | Sebastopol CA | 7,532 | $88K | 8.7% | 6.0% | 11% | B |
| 1,610 | Alvarado TX | 7,539 | $81K | 13.5% | 5.0% | 8% | B |
| 1,611 | Lower Oxford Township PA | 5,848 | $110K | 6.4% | 10.5% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,071 | 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 Sebastopol, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Sebastopol and its neighbors: 21% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sebastopol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastopol | – | B | A+ | 24 min | $87,684 |
| Santa Rosa | 21% | B | A | 23 min | $99,060 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Santa Rosa. Darker towns draw more of Sebastopol’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 Sebastopol: questions
What is the median household income in Sebastopol?
$87,684 (±$12,354) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sebastopol?
8.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sebastopol?
24 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sebastopol work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Rosa (21%, 7 mi), Petaluma (5%, 15 mi), San Francisco (5%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sebastopol walkable?
Sebastopol is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sebastopol without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sebastopol, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sebastopol
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.