Work & commute · Monterey

Work & commute in Monterey, CA

About one in 4 of Monterey’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Salinas (8%), Seaside (4%) and Pacific Grove (4%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

2,856 of 10,156 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,300 Monterey residents head out of town to work, 2,856 work right here, and 21,775 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Monterey.

7,300live here, work elsewhere

2,856live and work here

21,775work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Monterey goes to work

Monterey (in town)right here

28%2,856

Salinas15.1 mi away

8%798

Seaside3.9 mi away

4%455

Pacific Grove2.8 mi away

4%420

Del Monte Forest3.4 mi away

4%399

San Francisco100.3 mi away

3%330

San Jose48.2 mi away

3%289

Carmel-by-the-Sea4 mi away

3%262

Marina7.5 mi away

2%184

Santa Cruz27.1 mi away

1%99

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%4,064

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

How far

How far Monterey commutes

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

53%

13%

28%

53%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Monterey is a job hub

2.43jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Monterey are

24,631 jobs are based in Monterey. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Monterey’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Monterey

24,631 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Monterey residents hold

10,156 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+20%

Jobs based in Monterey, 2013 → 2023: 20,577 → 24,631. 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.