Work & commute · Watsonville

Work & commute in Watsonville, CA

About one in 5 of Watsonville’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Santa Cruz (8%), San Jose (7%) and Live Oak (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

4,359 of 19,777 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 15,418 Watsonville residents head out of town to work, 4,359 work right here, and 12,764 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watsonville.

15,418live here, work elsewhere

4,359live and work here

12,764work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watsonville goes to work

Watsonville (in town)right here

22%4,359

Santa Cruz14.9 mi away

8%1,630

San Jose25.8 mi away

7%1,454

Live Oak12.3 mi away

4%803

Salinas17.9 mi away

3%549

Capitola10.7 mi away

2%451

San Francisco88.7 mi away

2%448

Scotts Valley16 mi away

2%375

Soquel11 mi away

2%337

Gilroy11.8 mi away

2%299

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%9,072

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

How far

How far Watsonville commutes

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

32%

33%

15%

19%

32%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watsonville is balanced between jobs and homes

0.87jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Watsonville are

17,123 jobs are based in Watsonville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watsonville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watsonville

17,123 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Watsonville residents hold

19,777 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−3%

Jobs based in Watsonville, 2013 → 2023: 17,620 → 17,123. 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.