Zack Stansbury House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Washington has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 5% work in Mount Washington itself; outside it, Louisville draws the most (24%, 12 miles). Employers in Mount Washington report 2,852 jobs for 9,336 working residents. Jobs and income earn Mount Washington A−; getting around on foot earns it C−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Mount Washington, in brief
Mount Washington has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Mount Washington went from 1,599 in 2013 to 2,852 in 2023, +78%. The jobs ↓
Mount Washington and Louisville trade workers both ways
Louisville is the top workplace for Mount Washington residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Mount Washington come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Mount Washington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Kentucky. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Mount Washington empties out on a workday
About 13,000 people are in Mount Washington on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than the 19,000 who live here: 8,900 head out to work and 2,400 come in. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Mount Washington’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mount Washington is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #27 of 142 in Kentucky. The poverty rate holds Mount Washington’s grade up (5.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mount Washington could be anywhere from B to A.
The kinds of work in Mount Washington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Washington, 2013 → 2023: 1,599 → 2,852. 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 Mount Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Mount Washington to work: where people go
Where Mount Washington clocks in
8% 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.
The daily trip from Mount Washington: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Washington workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,071 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Mount Washington
On a workday 8,853 residents head out to work, 483 work right here, and 2,369 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Mount Washington on a workday afternoon, 34% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Mount Washington
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.
For most of Mount Washington, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mount Washington is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #125 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,335 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). 3.2% of Mount Washington households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mount Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Mount Washington ranks: 739th of 2,023 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Burlington KY | 18,008 | $109K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 464 | Fort Thomas KY | 17,142 | $104K | 6.1% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 737 | Forest Lake MN | 20,952 | $93K | 7.0% | 4.3% | 14% | A− |
| 738 | La Vista NE | 16,543 | $82K | 7.5% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 739 | Mount Washington KY | 18,989 | $96K | 5.3% | 4.6% | 5% | A− |
| 740 | Park Township MI | 19,199 | $110K | 5.4% | 5.0% | 2% | A− |
| 741 | Genoa Township MI | 20,576 | $101K | 6.9% | 4.4% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 744 | St. Matthews KY | 17,868 | $82K | 7.2% | 3.8% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Mount Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
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 Mount Washington: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Washington?
$96,239 (±$5,608) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Washington?
5.3%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Washington?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Washington work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Louisville (24%, 12 mi), Shepherdsville (8%, 9 mi), Jeffersontown (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mount Washington walkable?
Mount Washington is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mount Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mount Washington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount 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.