Photo: Taken by Antandrus · Public domainHousehold incomes in Summerland top those of 73% of U.S. towns
42% of workers have no commute at all, next to 17% for California as a whole. 12.2% of residents are in poverty; California has 12.0%. Jobs and income earn Summerland B; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Summerland
Home offices are common in Summerland
42% of Summerland workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
Commutes from Summerland are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 61 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; with 363 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Summerland gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Summerland is better than 64% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Summerland’s grade up ($95,694, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (12.0%) is left out: Summerland’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Summerland could be anywhere from C− to A+.
About 21 minutes to work from Summerland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Summerland workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 307 commuters (the 42% 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.
How far it is to work from Summerland
About 33% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Summerland
On a workday 341 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 505 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Summerland on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 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.
20% of working residents work in Santa Barbara
Where Summerland clocks in
20% of workers
10% 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.
Summerland is a services town
527 jobs are based in Summerland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Summerland, 2013 → 2023: 420 → 527. 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 Summerland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Summerland: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 528 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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). 8.0% of Summerland households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Summerland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800, Summerland comes 1,191st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Castle Hill CA | 1,026 | $250K | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Ladera CA | 1,297 | $236K | 1.5% | 10.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 19 | Acalanes Ridge CA | 1,006 | $181K | 1.5% | 7.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,189 | Burlington ND | 1,350 | $78K | 3.0% | 4.8% | <1% | B |
| 1,190 | West Kewaunee WI | 1,289 | $91K | 7.7% | 0.7% | 2% | B |
| 1,191 | Summerland CA | 1,348 | $96K | 12.2% | 12.0% | 6% | B |
| 1,192 | Oakfield WI | 1,065 | $91K | 9.0% | 0.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,193 | Irasburg VT | 1,199 | $99K | 2.5% | 1.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Summerland, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work next door: 10% of Summerland’s workers
The biggest share goes to Toro Canyon (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Summerland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerland | – | B | C+ | 21 min | $95,694 |
| Montecito | 2% | A− | A− | 18 min | $231,005 |
| Toro Canyon | 8% | A | B+ | 27 min | $140,743 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Summerland’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 Summerland: questions
What is the median household income in Summerland?
$95,694 (±$83,937) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Summerland?
12.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Summerland?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 42% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Summerland work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Barbara (20%, 7 mi), Carpinteria (10%, 5 mi), Toro Canyon (8%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Summerland walkable?
Summerland is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Summerland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Summerland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Summerland
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.