Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Washington has lower household incomes than 81% of U.S. towns
12.8% of residents live below the poverty line (Iowa 11.1%). The two grades for Washington are C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in three work in Washington itself; outside it, Iowa City draws the most (12%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Washington
Income, poverty and work: Washington’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #105 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment holds Washington’s grade up (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($55,373, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from C− to B−.
How far Washington’s workers travel
About 24% 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.
How many people are in Washington by day
On a workday 2,487 residents head out to work, 1,095 work right here, and 2,265 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Washington ends
Where Washington clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Washington: 3,360 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 3,629 → 3,360. 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.
How long Washington spends getting to work: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,407 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Washington, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #28 of 140 in Iowa. Both inputs place Washington near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,616 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.2% of Washington households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Washington ranks: 2,284th of 3,122 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Eldridge IA | 6,954 | $106K | 1.3% | 1.0% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Bondurant IA | 9,647 | $136K | 6.2% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 209 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,282 | Madison SD | 6,065 | $66K | 9.5% | 4.4% | 48% | C |
| 2,283 | Lacy-Lakeview TX | 7,240 | $57K | 13.1% | 5.8% | 5% | C |
| 2,284 | Washington IA | 7,261 | $55K | 12.8% | 3.3% | 31% | C |
| 2,285 | Miles City MT | 8,450 | $68K | 11.4% | 3.9% | 58% | C |
| 2,286 | Toronto OH | 5,149 | $56K | 15.2% | 2.9% | 20% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,122 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 median household income in Washington?
$55,373 (±$9,263) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
12.8%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iowa City (12%, 26 mi), Cedar Rapids (4%, 46 mi), Mount Pleasant (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.