Work & commute · Arroyo Grande

Work & commute in Arroyo Grande, CA

Most working residents leave Arroyo Grande for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are San Luis Obispo (18%), Santa Maria (9%) and Pismo Beach (6%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

922 of 7,127 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,205 Arroyo Grande residents head out of town to work, 922 work right here, and 5,020 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Arroyo Grande.

6,205live here, work elsewhere

922live and work here

5,020work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Arroyo Grande goes to work

San Luis Obispo10.9 mi away

18%1,277

Arroyo Grande (in town)right here

13%922

Santa Maria15.4 mi away

9%663

Pismo Beach5.4 mi away

6%450

Grover Beach2 mi away

5%336

Los Angeles145.3 mi away

3%232

Nipomo8.1 mi away

2%143

Atascadero25.7 mi away

2%126

El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)35 mi away

1%104

Oceano2.1 mi away

1%89

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%2,785

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Arroyo Grande commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

38%

32%

26%

38%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Arroyo Grande is balanced between jobs and homes

0.83jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Arroyo Grande are

5,942 jobs are based in Arroyo Grande. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arroyo Grande’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Arroyo Grande

5,942 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Arroyo Grande residents hold

7,127 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+14%

Jobs based in Arroyo Grande, 2013 → 2023: 5,207 → 5,942. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.