Work & commute · San Clemente

Work & commute in San Clemente, CA

Most working residents leave San Clemente for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Irvine (10%), Los Angeles (6%) and San Juan Capistrano (5%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

4,600 of 24,907 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 20,307 San Clemente residents head out of town to work, 4,600 work right here, and 15,558 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in San Clemente.

20,307live here, work elsewhere

4,600live and work here

15,558work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where San Clemente goes to work

San Clemente (in town)right here

18%4,600

Irvine18.3 mi away

10%2,604

Los Angeles60.4 mi away

6%1,424

San Juan Capistrano4.3 mi away

5%1,184

Mission Viejo11.3 mi away

4%885

Dana Point5 mi away

3%829

Newport Beach19 mi away

3%783

San Diego51.4 mi away

3%697

Santa Ana25.2 mi away

3%631

Costa Mesa22.8 mi away

2%480

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%10,790

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

How far

How far San Clemente commutes

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

32%

27%

21%

20%

32%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

San Clemente is balanced between jobs and homes

0.81jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in San Clemente are

20,158 jobs are based in San Clemente. Here is what they are, next to the jobs San Clemente’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in San Clemente

20,158 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs San Clemente residents hold

24,907 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+12%

Jobs based in San Clemente, 2013 → 2023: 18,018 → 20,158. 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.