Guest, Sign inJoin
Work & commute in Santa Monica · A commuter town

100% of Santa Monica’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Santa Monica for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Harlingen (31%), Raymondville (19%) and Union Springs (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 26 working residents
Typical commute
15 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
0%
Less than TX (14%)
Jobs based here
0
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Santa Monica?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

31% of working residents work in Harlingen

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Union Springs: 1 residents work here (4%)Grosse Pointe Woods: 1 residents work here (4%)Taft: 1 residents work here (4%)Raymondville: 5 residents work here (19%)Los Fresnos: 1 residents work here (4%)Kingsville: 1 residents work here (4%)Weslaco: 1 residents work here (4%)Harlingen: 8 residents work here (31%)Austin: 1 residents work here (4%)San Antonio: 1 residents work here (4%)Santa MonicaHarlingenRaymondvilleUnion SpringsGrosse Pointe WoodsTaftLos FresnosSanta Monica
1
Harlingen14 mi away
31%8
2
Raymondville13.8 mi away
19%5
3
Union Springs, AL818.5 mi away
4%1
44%1
5
Taft111.9 mi away
4%1
6
Los Fresnos21.3 mi away
4%1
7
Kingsville80.5 mi away
4%1
8
Weslaco28.6 mi away
4%1
9
Austin271.7 mi away
4%1
10
San Antonio221.2 mi away
4%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
19%5
The top trips

Where Santa Monica clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Santa Monica quiets down on a workday

On a workday 26 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.

26live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
0work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night98
Workday72
98live here− 26head out to work+ 0come in to work= 72on a workday

About 72 people are in Santa Monica on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.00jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.00 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Santa Monica commutes less than 15 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miHarlingen: 31% · 14 miRaymondville: 19% · 13.8 miUnion Springs: 4% · 818.5 miGrosse Pointe Woods: 4% · 1386.3 miTaft: 4% · 111.9 miLos Fresnos: 4% · 21.3 miKingsville: 4% · 80.5 miWeslaco: 4% · 28.6 miAustin: 4% · 271.7 miSan Antonio: 4% · 221.2 miHarlingen 31%Raymondville 19%Union Springs 4%Grosse Pointe Woods 4%Taft 4%Santa Monica
Santa MonicaTop destinations (size = commuters)
4%Under 10 mi1 residents
58%10–24 mi15 residents
12%25–50 mi3 residents
27%Over 50 mi7 residents

About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

Working from home in Santa Monica

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Working from home
0%

of Santa Monica workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Santa Monica

Santa Monica home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Santa Monica, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Santa Monica worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

Post to Santa Monica

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in