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Jobs & commute in Spokane

Spokane has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

Employers in Spokane report 36 jobs, against 147 working residents. Hardly any work in Spokane; the top destination outside it is Vidalia (12%, 10 miles). Working residents average 40 minutes each way (Louisiana 26, U.S. 26).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who leaves Spokane for work, and who comes in

On a workday 146 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.

146live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
35work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night440
Workday330
440live here− 150head out to work+ 35come in to work= 330on a workday

About 330 people are in Spokane on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.24jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

The commute map

Where the trip to work from Spokane ends

FayettevilleHarrisonburg: 5 residents work here (3%)Ferriday: 7 residents work here (5%)Jonesville: 8 residents work here (5%)MontgomeryVidalia: 18 residents work here (12%)WinnsboroJena: 3 residents work here (2%)West Monroe: 2 residents work here (1%)Monroe: 3 residents work here (2%)Alexandria: 7 residents work here (5%)Baton RougePort GibsonNatchez: 12 residents work here (8%)SpokaneMinorca: 7 residents work here (5%)VidaliaNatchezJonesvilleFerridayAlexandriaMinorcaSpokane
1
Vidalia9.6 mi away
12%18
2
Natchez, MS12 mi away
8%12
3
Jonesville22.7 mi away
5%8
4
Ferriday7.4 mi away
5%7
5
Alexandria65.9 mi away
5%7
6
Minorca9.2 mi away
5%7
7
Harrisonburg21.8 mi away
3%5
8
Jena39.3 mi away
2%3
9
Monroe66.9 mi away
2%3
10
West Monroe68.9 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
51%75
The top trips

Where Spokane clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Mostly health care, schools and offices in Spokane

Jobs based in SpokaneJobs Spokane residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms11%16%
Trade, transport & utilities6%22%
Services: health, schools, offices83%63%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less67%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%37%
Over $3,333 a month8%46%

Who does it

29 or younger56%14%
30 to 5436%51%
55 and older8%35%
+3%

Jobs based in Spokane, 2013 → 2023: 35 → 36. 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 Spokane’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

A commute of about 40 minutes in Spokane

A year of commuting
304 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Spokane40 min
Louisiana26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
7%

of Spokane workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Spokane gets to work
87%Drive alone
13%Carpool

Share of the 213 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Louisiana: 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.

How far

How many miles Spokane commutes

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miVidalia: 12% · 9.6 miNatchez: 8% · 12 miJonesville: 5% · 22.7 miFerriday: 5% · 7.4 miAlexandria: 5% · 65.9 miMinorca: 5% · 9.2 miHarrisonburg: 3% · 21.8 miJena: 2% · 39.3 miMonroe: 2% · 66.9 miWest Monroe: 1% · 68.9 miVidalia 12%Natchez 8%Jonesville 5%Ferriday 5%Spokane
SpokaneTop destinations (size = commuters)
32%Under 10 mi45 residents
29%10–24 mi41 residents
5%25–50 mi7 residents
35%Over 50 mi49 residents

About 35% 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 to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Spokane: questions

What is the median household income in Spokane?

$97,361 (±$53,296) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Spokane?

0.0%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Spokane?

40 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Spokane work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vidalia (12%, 10 mi), Natchez (8%, 12 mi), Jonesville (5%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Spokane 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 Spokane, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Spokane

Spokane home →

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.