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Work & commute · Berkeley

Work & commute in Berkeley, CA

About one in 5 of Berkeley’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are San Francisco (26%), Oakland (13%) and San Jose (2%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
21%
8,775 of 41,698 working residents
Typical commute
9 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
28 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
37%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 32,923 Berkeley residents head out of town to work, 8,775 work right here, and 58,164 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Berkeley.

32,923live here, work elsewhere
8,775live and work here
58,164work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Berkeley goes to work

EmeryvilleAlbanyEl CerritoAlamedaBerkeleySan LeandroWalnut CreekConcordRichmondSan JoseLos AngelesSan FranciscoOaklandSacramentoKensingtonSan FranciscoOaklandSan JoseEmeryvilleRichmondLos AngelesAlamedaSacramentoWalnut CreekBerkeley
1
San Francisco41.2 mi away
26%10,807
2
Berkeley (in town)right here
21%8,775
3
Oakland7.7 mi away
13%5,283
4
San Jose47.5 mi away
2%782
5
Emeryville1.8 mi away
2%751
6
Richmond6.9 mi away
2%727
7
Los Angeles343.3 mi away
1%567
8
Alameda8.8 mi away
1%530
9
Sacramento66.2 mi away
1%512
10
Walnut Creek14.3 mi away
1%383
Everywhere elseother towns and states
30%12,581

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

How far

How far Berkeley commutes

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

55%Under 10 mi
24%10–24 mi
10%25–50 mi
12%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Berkeley is a job hub

1.61jobs per working resident
A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Berkeley are

66,939 jobs are based in Berkeley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Berkeley’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Berkeley

66,939 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)8%
Trade, transport & utilities9%
Services (health, schools, offices…)83%
$1,250 a month or less12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month16%
Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Berkeley residents hold

41,698 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)8%
Trade, transport & utilities11%
Services (health, schools, offices…)81%
$1,250 a month or less11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month16%
Over $3,333 a month73%
+11%

Jobs based in Berkeley, 2013 → 2023: 60,446 → 66,939. 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Berkeley, CAView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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