Work & commute · Walnut Creek

Work & commute in Walnut Creek, CA

Most working residents leave Walnut Creek for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are San Francisco (18%), Oakland (8%) and Concord (5%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

3,353 of 28,250 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

31%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 24,897 Walnut Creek residents head out of town to work, 3,353 work right here, and 49,926 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Walnut Creek.

24,897live here, work elsewhere

3,353live and work here

49,926work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Walnut Creek goes to work

San Francisco55.5 mi away

18%5,023

Walnut Creek (in town)right here

12%3,353

Oakland13.6 mi away

8%2,182

Concord5.3 mi away

5%1,368

Berkeley14.3 mi away

3%881

San Ramon11.2 mi away

3%733

Pleasanton18.4 mi away

2%599

Martinez7.7 mi away

2%553

San Jose43.7 mi away

2%538

Pleasant Hill4.1 mi away

2%522

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%12,498

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

How far

How far Walnut Creek commutes

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

29%

44%

16%

12%

29%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Walnut Creek is a job hub

1.89jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Walnut Creek are

53,279 jobs are based in Walnut Creek. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Walnut Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Walnut Creek

53,279 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month74%

Jobs Walnut Creek residents hold

28,250 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month78%

+2%

Jobs based in Walnut Creek, 2013 → 2023: 52,136 → 53,279. 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.