Work & commute · Oceano

Work & commute in Oceano, CA

Most working residents leave Oceano for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are San Luis Obispo (18%), Arroyo Grande (9%) and Santa Maria (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

154 of 2,833 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,679 Oceano residents head out of town to work, 154 work right here, and 699 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oceano.

2,679live here, work elsewhere

154live and work here

699work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oceano goes to work

San Luis Obispo11.9 mi away

18%511

Arroyo Grande2.1 mi away

9%253

Santa Maria14.9 mi away

8%238

Pismo Beach5.1 mi away

8%229

Grover Beach1.5 mi away

6%159

Oceano (in town)right here

5%154

Los Angeles145.7 mi away

3%86

Nipomo7.9 mi away

3%74

El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)36.5 mi away

2%59

Atascadero26.9 mi away

2%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%1,023

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

How far

How far Oceano commutes

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

39%

32%

23%

39%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oceano is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Oceano are

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

Jobs based in Oceano

853 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Oceano residents hold

2,833 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+39%

Jobs based in Oceano, 2013 → 2023: 614 → 853. 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.