River Mill Hydroelectric Project · Photo: Lockley · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Estacada (1.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Estacada itself; outside it, Portland draws the most (25%, 23 miles). Estacada grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Estacada: the figures worth knowing
Estacada’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Estacada is Portland, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 25% of working residents (529) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Estacada workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Estacada makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Estacada are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Estacada residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Estacada’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Estacada is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #61 of 142 in Oregon. Unemployment holds Estacada’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (23.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Estacada could be anywhere from C to A.
How far Estacada’s workers travel
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.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Estacada
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Estacada workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,192 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% 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.
40% of the jobs in Estacada make or build things
1,687 jobs are based in Estacada.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Estacada, 2013 → 2023: 1,269 → 1,687. 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 Estacada’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Estacada: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,936 residents head out to work, 218 work right here, and 1,469 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 (0.78 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.
Out of Estacada to work: where people go
Where Estacada clocks in
6% of workers
4% 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.
Estacada is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Estacada is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #51 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Estacada 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 2,545 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 39% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Estacada households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Estacada’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Estacada is 1,638th of 3,375 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,800
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 315 | Beavercreek OR | 4,894 | $135K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Creswell OR | 5,566 | $100K | 4.3% | 0.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 632 | Garden Home-Whitford OR | 6,979 | $98K | 5.9% | 4.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,636 | Mayville WI | 5,184 | $67K | 6.6% | 4.3% | 27% | B |
| 1,637 | Waimanalo HI | 6,054 | $117K | 14.9% | 5.1% | <1% | B |
| 1,638 | Estacada OR | 5,814 | $94K | 23.8% | 1.5% | 10% | B |
| 1,639 | Lee MA | 5,673 | $84K | 7.2% | 3.8% | 26% | B |
| 1,640 | Stonelick Township OH | 6,067 | $71K | 15.4% | 2.7% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,375 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Estacada, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
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 Estacada: questions
What is the median household income in Estacada?
$94,435 (±$34,087) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Estacada?
23.8%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Estacada?
31 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Estacada work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (25%, 23 mi), Gresham (6%, 15 mi), Oregon City (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Estacada walkable?
Estacada is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Estacada without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Estacada, from the people who make the trip.
More of Estacada
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.