Work & commute · Pacifica

Work & commute in Pacifica, CA

Most working residents leave Pacifica for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are San Francisco (33%), South San Francisco (6%) and San Mateo (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,412 of 17,376 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

24%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 15,964 Pacifica residents head out of town to work, 1,412 work right here, and 3,245 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pacifica.

15,964live here, work elsewhere

1,412live and work here

3,245work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pacifica goes to work

San Francisco31.2 mi away

33%5,738

Pacifica (in town)right here

8%1,412

South San Francisco6.7 mi away

6%1,049

San Mateo10 mi away

4%634

Daly City6.6 mi away

3%539

Oakland18 mi away

3%484

Redwood City16 mi away

3%467

San Jose42.5 mi away

3%453

Burlingame6.6 mi away

2%399

Palo Alto23.6 mi away

2%282

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%5,919

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

How far

How far Pacifica commutes

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

39%

40%

12%

10%

39%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pacifica is a commuter town

0.27jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Pacifica are

4,657 jobs are based in Pacifica. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pacifica’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pacifica

4,657 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Pacifica residents hold

17,376 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month77%

+18%

Jobs based in Pacifica, 2013 → 2023: 3,951 → 4,657. 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.