With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Washington works elsewhere
Home is the office for 68% of workers; California has 17%. Washington has 18 jobs, against 36 working residents. Hardly any work in Washington; the top destination outside it is Grass Valley (22%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Washington quiets down on a workday
On a workday 36 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere.
About 110 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Washington: the destinations
Where Washington clocks in
22% of workers
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Washington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 10 → 18. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Washington
of Washington workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26 commuters (the 68% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Washington commutes
About 31% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Washington: questions
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
23.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Washington work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grass Valley (22%, 17 mi), Nevada City (6%, 15 mi), Sunnyvale (6%, 152 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washington
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.