Work & commute · San Diego

Work & commute in San Diego, CA

61% of San Diego’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Chula Vista (4%), Los Angeles (3%) and Poway (2%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

61%

365,926 of 601,723 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 235,797 San Diego residents head out of town to work, 365,926 work right here, and 427,985 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in San Diego.

235,797live here, work elsewhere

365,926live and work here

427,985work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where San Diego goes to work

San Diego (in town)right here

61%365,926

Chula Vista15.3 mi away

4%21,245

Los Angeles110.8 mi away

3%16,123

Poway12.3 mi away

2%10,562

El Cajon9.5 mi away

2%9,297

Carlsbad22.7 mi away

2%9,172

La Mesa7.3 mi away

1%7,882

National City11.5 mi away

1%7,369

Irvine69.6 mi away

1%6,821

San Francisco474.8 mi away

1%6,429

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%140,897

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

How far

How far San Diego commutes

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

53%

25%

20%

53%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

San Diego is balanced between jobs and homes

1.32jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in San Diego are

793,911 jobs are based in San Diego. Here is what they are, next to the jobs San Diego’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in San Diego

793,911 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs San Diego residents hold

601,723 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+17%

Jobs based in San Diego, 2013 → 2023: 678,094 → 793,911. 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.