Work & commute · San Rafael

Work & commute in San Rafael, CA

Most working residents leave San Rafael for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are San Francisco (22%), Novato (5%) and Oakland (3%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

4,315 of 22,558 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

26%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,243 San Rafael residents head out of town to work, 4,315 work right here, and 28,333 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in San Rafael.

18,243live here, work elsewhere

4,315live and work here

28,333work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where San Rafael goes to work

San Francisco33.6 mi away

22%4,941

San Rafael (in town)right here

19%4,315

Novato7.5 mi away

5%1,118

Oakland21.2 mi away

3%629

Larkspur3 mi away

2%514

Berkeley13.9 mi away

2%399

Mill Valley5.4 mi away

2%378

Corte Madera3.4 mi away

2%372

Petaluma19.2 mi away

2%372

Kentfield4.2 mi away

1%327

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%9,193

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

How far

How far San Rafael commutes

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

39%

35%

12%

14%

39%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

San Rafael is balanced between jobs and homes

1.45jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in San Rafael are

32,648 jobs are based in San Rafael. Here is what they are, next to the jobs San Rafael’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in San Rafael

32,648 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs San Rafael residents hold

22,558 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

−4%

Jobs based in San Rafael, 2013 → 2023: 33,875 → 32,648. 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.