Big Sur is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 1,443 people and just one neighborhood, Big Sur is the 703rd largest community in California.
Big Sur home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Big Sur real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Big Sur is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 86.84% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Big Sur is a town of service providers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Big Sur who work in food service (20.52%), management occupations (13.37%), and maintenance occupations (8.60%).
Of important note, Big Sur is also a town of artists. Big Sur has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Big Sur’s character.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 14.85% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Big Sur is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.
Overall, Big Sur’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which makes a great place to live if safety is an important concern.
One of the nice things about Big Sur is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
Big Sur is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 47.23% of adults in Big Sur have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The per capita income in Big Sur in 2022 was $47,223, which is middle income relative to California, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $188,892 for a family of four. However, Big Sur contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Big Sur is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Big Sur home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Big Sur residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Big Sur also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 39.06% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Big Sur include Irish, German, English, European, and Scottish.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Big Sur's cultural character, accounting for 24.81% of the town’s population.
The most common language spoken in Big Sur is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
This neighborhood has wide open spaces, few people, and lots of space to stretch out. If you like locations that fit that description, you may like this neighborhood. Based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, with only 6 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 98.0% of America. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 31.3% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 95.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, if you are planning to retire in California, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in California, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 98.0% of neighborhoods in CA. If a California retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
In the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 22.1% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 2.6% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 95.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are more people living in the neighborhood employed as sales and service workers (59.9%) than almost any neighborhood in the country. From fast-food service workers to major sales accounts, sales and service workers make up the largest proportion of our national employment picture. But despite that size and importance nationally, this neighborhood still stands out as unique due to the dominance of people living here who work in such occupations.
Furthermore, it used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 4.7% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 96.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Ukrainian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Ukrainian ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Big Sur are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 52.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 40.1% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 35.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (11.0%), and 8.5% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 59.2% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (37.8%).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Big Sur, CA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (36.6%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (10.0%), and residents who report German roots (8.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.6%), along with some Scottish ancestry residents (3.4%), among others. In addition, 24.8% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (45.8% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (49.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (22.1%) and 9.2% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
