Work & commute · Santa Maria

Work & commute in Santa Maria, CA

About one in 3 of Santa Maria’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are San Luis Obispo (4%), Los Angeles (3%) and Orcutt (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

14,938 of 38,133 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 23,195 Santa Maria residents head out of town to work, 14,938 work right here, and 24,740 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Santa Maria.

23,195live here, work elsewhere

14,938live and work here

24,740work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Santa Maria goes to work

Santa Maria (in town)right here

39%14,938

San Luis Obispo26.3 mi away

4%1,642

Los Angeles131.9 mi away

3%1,310

Orcutt4.6 mi away

3%1,297

Santa Barbara55.3 mi away

3%1,042

Arroyo Grande15.4 mi away

2%674

Eastern Goleta Valley50.3 mi away

2%662

Lompoc18.7 mi away

1%570

Nipomo7.4 mi away

1%525

Goleta47.8 mi away

1%452

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%15,021

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

How far

How far Santa Maria commutes

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

49%

11%

31%

49%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Santa Maria is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Santa Maria are

39,678 jobs are based in Santa Maria. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Santa Maria’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Santa Maria

39,678 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Santa Maria residents hold

38,133 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+11%

Jobs based in Santa Maria, 2013 → 2023: 35,640 → 39,678. 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.