Photo: MARELBU · CC BY 3.0Soledad has lower unemployment (2.7%) than 75% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Soledad; the top destination outside it is Salinas (17%, 25 miles). Jobs and income earn Soledad B; getting around on foot earns it B−. For 4% of workers, the job is at home, 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 Soledad, in a few figures
Soledad and Salinas trade workers both ways
Salinas is the top workplace for Soledad residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Soledad come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Soledad workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 17% across California. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Soledad has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Soledad went from 5,027 in 2013 to 6,872 in 2023, +37%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Soledad’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Soledad is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #451 of 847 in California. Unemployment holds Soledad’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (16.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Soledad could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The towns that employ Soledad’s residents
Where Soledad clocks in
17% of workers
6% 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.
Time on the road from Soledad: 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 Soledad workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,754 commuters (the 4% 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 distance from Soledad to work
About 35% 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.
Goods jobs make up 32% of work in Soledad
6,872 jobs are based in Soledad.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Soledad, 2013 → 2023: 5,027 → 6,872. 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 Soledad’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Soledad, and who commutes in
On a workday 7,567 residents head out to work, 1,826 work right here, and 5,046 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Soledad on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
In Soledad, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Soledad is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #674 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 8,064 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 46% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.3% of Soledad households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Soledad’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Soledad is 1,025th of 1,645 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 36,000
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Orinda CA | 19,507 | $250K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,023 | Shelbyville KY | 18,453 | $76K | 14.5% | 3.5% | 19% | B |
| 1,024 | Kent OH | 27,737 | $43K | 27.1% | 11.2% | 14% | B |
| 1,025 | Soledad CA | 26,357 | $97K | 16.7% | 2.7% | 19% | B |
| 1,026 | Rockledge FL | 31,343 | $84K | 9.0% | 5.0% | 13% | B |
| 1,027 | Tavares FL | 22,490 | $59K | 9.3% | 2.6% | 17% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,645 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Soledad, the top three, the last and three more from California.
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 Soledad: questions
What is the median household income in Soledad?
$96,862 (±$5,337) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Soledad?
16.7%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Soledad?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Soledad work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salinas (17%, 25 mi), San Jose (6%, 66 mi), Gonzales (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Soledad walkable?
Soledad is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Soledad without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Soledad, from the people who make the trip.
More of Soledad
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.