Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as West Menlo Park’s
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. 3.0% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Jobs and income earn West Menlo Park A; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets West Menlo Park apart on work
Home offices are common in West Menlo Park
41% of West Menlo Park workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
83% of West Menlo Park’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 72% of the jobs based in West Menlo Park. The jobs ↓
Commutes from West Menlo Park 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 ↓
West Menlo Park is a place people come home to
There are 439 jobs based in West Menlo Park, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday West Menlo Park has about 2,500 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind West Menlo Park’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Menlo Park is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #102 of 847 in California. Household income holds West Menlo Park’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports West Menlo Park’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Menlo Park could be anywhere from A− to A+.
A commute of about 21 minutes in West Menlo Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Menlo Park workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,008 commuters (the 41% 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.
West Menlo Park is a services town
439 jobs are based in West Menlo Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Menlo Park, 2014 → 2024: 285 → 439. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Menlo Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
West Menlo Park by day and by night
On a workday 1,537 residents head out to work, 24 work right here, and 415 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in West Menlo Park on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.28 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 2024, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Menlo Park
Where West Menlo Park clocks in
9% 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 distance from West Menlo Park to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: West Menlo Park
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Menlo Park is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #62 of 847 in California. Both inputs place West Menlo Park 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 1,707 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 39% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 3.6% of West Menlo Park households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of West Menlo Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,474 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900, West Menlo Park comes 551st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 549 | Linn WI | 2,707 | $99K | 5.7% | 1.3% | 2% | A |
| 550 | Union Township OH | 2,986 | $89K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 20% | A |
| 551 | West Menlo Park CA | 3,634 | $250K | 3.0% | 6.3% | 2% | A |
| 552 | Muttontown NY | 3,568 | $250K | 4.0% | 7.1% | 3% | A |
| 553 | Wayne Township OH | 4,547 | $80K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 West Menlo Park, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 10% of West Menlo Park
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Menlo Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Menlo Park | – | A | A+ | 21 min | $250,000+ |
| Menlo Park | 10% | A | A+ | 24 min | $210,025 |
| Atherton | under 4% | A+ | A | 23 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Menlo Park. Darker towns draw more of West Menlo Park’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 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in West Menlo Park: questions
What is the median household income in West Menlo Park?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Menlo Park?
3.0%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Menlo Park?
21 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 41% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Menlo Park work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Menlo Park (10%, 4 mi), San Francisco (10%, 26 mi), Stanford (9%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Menlo Park walkable?
West Menlo Park is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Menlo Park without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Menlo Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Menlo Park
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.