Work & commute · Pismo Beach

Work & commute in Pismo Beach, CA

Most working residents leave Pismo Beach for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are San Luis Obispo (19%), Santa Maria (9%) and Arroyo Grande (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

328 of 2,960 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,632 Pismo Beach residents head out of town to work, 328 work right here, and 3,627 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pismo Beach.

2,632live here, work elsewhere

328live and work here

3,627work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pismo Beach goes to work

San Luis Obispo7.8 mi away

19%573

Pismo Beach (in town)right here

11%328

Santa Maria20 mi away

9%261

Arroyo Grande5.4 mi away

5%155

Los Angeles150.7 mi away

4%112

Grover Beach3.8 mi away

3%96

El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)32.8 mi away

2%72

Atascadero23 mi away

2%70

Santa Barbara75.2 mi away

1%44

San Diego259.2 mi away

1%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,216

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

How far

How far Pismo Beach commutes

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

44%

21%

29%

44%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pismo Beach is balanced between jobs and homes

1.34jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Pismo Beach are

3,955 jobs are based in Pismo Beach. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pismo Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pismo Beach

3,955 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month40%

Jobs Pismo Beach residents hold

2,960 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+12%

Jobs based in Pismo Beach, 2013 → 2023: 3,545 → 3,955. 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.