Work & commute · San Luis Obispo

Work & commute in San Luis Obispo, CA

About one in 3 of San Luis Obispo’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Santa Maria (4%), Los Angeles (3%) and Atascadero (3%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

6,801 of 17,594 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 10,793 San Luis Obispo residents head out of town to work, 6,801 work right here, and 23,032 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in San Luis Obispo.

10,793live here, work elsewhere

6,801live and work here

23,032work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where San Luis Obispo goes to work

San Luis Obispo (in town)right here

39%6,801

Santa Maria26.3 mi away

4%643

Los Angeles154.6 mi away

3%555

Atascadero15.2 mi away

3%450

El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)25 mi away

2%407

California Polytechnic State University2.8 mi away

2%381

Arroyo Grande10.9 mi away

2%368

Pismo Beach7.8 mi away

2%270

Morro Bay13 mi away

1%235

Los Osos9.2 mi away

1%188

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%7,296

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

How far

How far San Luis Obispo commutes

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

55%

12%

26%

55%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

San Luis Obispo is a job hub

1.70jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in San Luis Obispo are

29,833 jobs are based in San Luis Obispo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs San Luis Obispo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in San Luis Obispo

29,833 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs San Luis Obispo residents hold

17,594 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−2%

Jobs based in San Luis Obispo, 2013 → 2023: 30,466 → 29,833. 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.