Photo: Raymond Shobe · CC BY 2.0Work means St. George for more than half of Washington’s working residents
The trip to work takes 18 minutes on average, next to 22 for Utah and 26 for the U.S. Jobs and income earn Washington A−; getting around on foot earns it B−. About one in seven work in Washington itself; outside it, St. George draws the most (56%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Washington
Jobs in Washington have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Washington went from 3,389 in 2013 to 7,166 in 2023, +111%. The jobs ↓
Most Washington residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
36% of the jobs based in Washington are held by workers 29 or younger, against 30% of Washington’s own working residents. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Washington earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Washington is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #61 of 119 in Utah. Unemployment is its strongest input (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Washington could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Jobs in Washington: what the 7,166 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 3,389 → 7,166. 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.
Miles to work from Washington
About 16% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Washington
On a workday 10,541 residents head out to work, 1,690 work right here, and 5,476 people come in from elsewhere.
About 32,000 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Commuting out of Washington: the destinations
Where Washington clocks in
56% of workers
5% 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.
Time on the road from Washington: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,668 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% 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, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Washington is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #94 of 119 in Utah. 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 14,537 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). 2.1% of Washington households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Washington ranks: 390th of 1,162 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 50,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Holladay UT | 31,162 | $117K | 4.1% | 2.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Syracuse UT | 39,909 | $133K | 4.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Kaysville UT | 33,307 | $133K | 3.4% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 388 | Voorhees Township NJ | 31,571 | $105K | 6.9% | 4.8% | 9% | A− |
| 389 | Mount Pleasant NY | 45,444 | $143K | 7.0% | 6.1% | 14% | A− |
| 390 | Washington UT | 37,107 | $92K | 5.5% | 2.2% | 14% | A− |
| 391 | Fitchburg WI | 34,615 | $87K | 9.3% | 1.9% | 8% | A− |
| 392 | Norwood Park Township IL | 26,584 | $90K | 4.8% | 5.4% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Utah.
61% of Washington works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | A− | B− | 18 min | $91,853 |
| St. George | 56% | B− | B+ | 17 min | $76,508 |
| Hurricane | 5% | B− | B | 22 min | $75,016 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to St. George. Darker towns draw more of Washington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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?
$91,853 (±$12,506) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
5.5%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
14% work in town.
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.