Photo: Allie_Caulfield · CC BY 2.0Solvang has lower unemployment (1.8%) than 87% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 2.4 in Santa Maria. Jobs and income earn Solvang B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Measured by household income, Solvang is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Solvang apart
Solvang trades workers with the towns around it
Solvang has about as many jobs (2,759) as working residents (2,534), but they are mostly different people: 2,014 residents leave for work each day while 2,239 people come in. Only 19% of the jobs in Solvang are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Solvang’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Solvang is Santa Barbara, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (286) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Solvang
61% of Solvang residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Solvang pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 79% leave town for their job. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Solvang
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Solvang is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #310 of 847 in California. Unemployment holds Solvang’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 36% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Solvang could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Solvang by day and by night
On a workday 2,014 residents head out to work, 520 work right here, and 2,239 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 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.
The commute from Solvang, by distance
About 27% 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.
What work there is in Solvang: 2,759 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Solvang, 2013 → 2023: 2,563 → 2,759. 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 Solvang’s own residents hold wherever they work.
11% of working residents work in Santa Barbara
Where Solvang clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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.
About 29 minutes each way for Solvang’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Solvang workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,460 commuters (the 16% 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 Solvang, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Solvang is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #51 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Solvang 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 2,921 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 7.4% of Solvang households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Solvang’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Solvang is 1,181st of 3,336 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,000
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,179 | Reidland KY | 5,277 | $99K | 7.9% | 3.5% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,180 | Northgate OH | 6,723 | $74K | 9.7% | 3.2% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,181 | Solvang CA | 5,944 | $109K | 11.3% | 1.8% | 21% | B+ |
| 1,182 | Geneseo IL | 6,505 | $70K | 2.6% | 3.5% | 33% | B+ |
| 1,183 | Freeburg IL | 4,507 | $92K | 6.7% | 5.4% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,336 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Solvang, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Around Solvang: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Santa Ynez (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Solvang workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solvang | – | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $109,091 |
| Santa Ynez | 6% | B+ | B+ | 27 min | $110,781 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Solvang’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 Solvang: questions
What is the median household income in Solvang?
$109,091 (±$17,538) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Solvang?
11.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Solvang?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Solvang work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Barbara (11%, 28 mi), Goleta (6%, 19 mi), Santa Ynez (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Solvang walkable?
Solvang is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.3 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Solvang without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Solvang, from the people who make the trip.
More of Solvang
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.