Work & commute · Petaluma

Work & commute in Petaluma, CA

About one in 4 of Petaluma’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Santa Rosa (9%), San Francisco (8%) and Novato (5%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

5,602 of 24,103 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,501 Petaluma residents head out of town to work, 5,602 work right here, and 22,521 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Petaluma.

18,501live here, work elsewhere

5,602live and work here

22,521work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Petaluma goes to work

Petaluma (in town)right here

23%5,602

Santa Rosa14.7 mi away

9%2,288

San Francisco41.8 mi away

8%1,832

Novato11.7 mi away

5%1,312

San Rafael19.2 mi away

5%1,267

Rohnert Park8.3 mi away

3%762

Oakland39.3 mi away

2%382

San Jose79 mi away

1%275

Sonoma9.7 mi away

1%271

Sacramento66.7 mi away

1%270

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%9,842

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

How far

How far Petaluma commutes

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

33%

32%

18%

33%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Petaluma is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Petaluma are

28,123 jobs are based in Petaluma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Petaluma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Petaluma

28,123 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Petaluma residents hold

24,103 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+28%

Jobs based in Petaluma, 2013 → 2023: 21,966 → 28,123. 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.