Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Washington
The trip to work takes 21 minutes on average, next to 24 for Missouri and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Washington are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in four work in Washington itself; outside it, Union draws the most (6%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Washington, in brief
Washington is where the jobs are
Washington has 11,565 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Washington draws workers from far and wide
The 11,565 jobs in Washington are filled from a wide area. Washington’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Washington’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #90 of 247 in Missouri. The poverty rate holds Washington’s grade up (7.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from C to A−.
Who leaves Washington for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,122 residents head out to work, 2,025 work right here, and 9,540 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 daily trip into Washington
Where Washington clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Washington works in goods: 31% of its jobs
11,565 jobs are based in Washington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 10,078 → 11,565. 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.
Getting to work from Washington takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,525 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 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.
How many miles Washington commutes
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.
Washington is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #43 of 247 in Missouri. 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 7,433 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). 5.8% of Washington households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000, Washington ranks 1,229th of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Crestwood MO | 12,207 | $107K | 5.5% | 1.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,227 | Kaiminani HI | 11,465 | $111K | 9.8% | 3.8% | 5% | B |
| 1,228 | White Settlement TX | 17,932 | $57K | 12.7% | 3.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,229 | Washington MO | 15,906 | $79K | 7.9% | 3.8% | 28% | B |
| 1,230 | Middleburg FL | 11,644 | $75K | 8.0% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,231 | Beach Park IL | 14,114 | $86K | 8.5% | 8.4% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Washington, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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?
$79,173 (±$9,818) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
7.9%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Union (6%, 8 mi), St. Louis (5%, 42 mi), Chesterfield (3%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
1% 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.