Work & commute · Santa Cruz

Work & commute in Santa Cruz, CA

About one in 3 of Santa Cruz’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are San Jose (7%), San Francisco (4%) and Live Oak (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

5,953 of 20,658 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

22%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,705 Santa Cruz residents head out of town to work, 5,953 work right here, and 21,141 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Santa Cruz.

14,705live here, work elsewhere

5,953live and work here

21,141work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Santa Cruz goes to work

Santa Cruz (in town)right here

29%5,953

San Jose25.3 mi away

7%1,392

San Francisco75.5 mi away

4%906

Live Oak3.1 mi away

4%890

Scotts Valley5.8 mi away

3%673

Watsonville14.9 mi away

3%539

Capitola4.5 mi away

2%414

Palo Alto29.8 mi away

2%393

Soquel5.1 mi away

2%381

Santa Clara27.2 mi away

1%294

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%8,823

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

How far

How far Santa Cruz commutes

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

46%

11%

19%

23%

46%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Santa Cruz is balanced between jobs and homes

1.31jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Santa Cruz are

27,094 jobs are based in Santa Cruz. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Santa Cruz’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Santa Cruz

27,094 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Santa Cruz residents hold

20,658 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+9%

Jobs based in Santa Cruz, 2013 → 2023: 24,947 → 27,094. 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.