Work & commute · Novato

Work & commute in Novato, CA

Most working residents leave Novato for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are San Francisco (18%), San Rafael (12%) and Petaluma (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

3,738 of 22,756 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,018 Novato residents head out of town to work, 3,738 work right here, and 17,774 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Novato.

19,018live here, work elsewhere

3,738live and work here

17,774work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Novato goes to work

San Francisco36.2 mi away

18%4,013

Novato (in town)right here

16%3,738

San Rafael7.5 mi away

12%2,632

Petaluma11.7 mi away

3%704

Oakland28 mi away

3%595

Santa Rosa26.4 mi away

2%491

Larkspur10 mi away

2%386

Berkeley20.4 mi away

1%326

Kentfield10.3 mi away

1%311

Corte Madera10.8 mi away

1%301

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%9,259

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

How far

How far Novato commutes

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

32%

36%

18%

14%

32%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Novato is balanced between jobs and homes

0.95jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.95 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Novato are

21,512 jobs are based in Novato. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Novato’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Novato

21,512 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs Novato residents hold

22,756 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+11%

Jobs based in Novato, 2013 → 2023: 19,333 → 21,512. 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.