Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Jessamyn assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domainMost of Washington commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Washington is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (C+). Washington has 46 jobs; 435 of its residents have a job. Only 3% work in Washington itself; outside it, Barre draws the most (16%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Washington apart on work
Washington is a place people come home to
There are 46 jobs based in Washington, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Washington has about 670 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Washington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Vermont. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 435 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Washington
The poverty rate holds Washington’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down.
Unemployment (6.0%) is left out: Washington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Washington could be anywhere from C to B.
Who leaves Washington for work, and who comes in
On a workday 422 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 670 people are in Washington on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
Time on the road from Washington: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washington workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 422 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% 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 towns that employ Washington’s residents
Where Washington clocks in
11% of workers
9% 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.
Goods, not services: 43% of the jobs in Washington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 46. 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.
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.
Driving is how Washington gets around
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.2% across Vermont, on an EPA index of 4.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 496 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.3% of Washington households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Washington’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Washington is 1,122nd of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 307 | Bolton VT | 1,277 | $111K | 2.9% | 1.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 405 | Cornwall VT | 1,290 | $115K | 0.8% | 7.4% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 523 | West Windsor VT | 1,355 | $109K | 3.7% | 3.4% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,120 | Ogemaw Township MI | 1,175 | $76K | 4.8% | 0.7% | 2% | B− |
| 1,121 | Summit NY | 1,075 | $74K | 3.9% | 9.0% | 0% | B− |
| 1,122 | Washington VT | 1,063 | $66K | 3.2% | 6.0% | 3% | B− |
| 1,123 | Flat Top Mountain TN | 1,004 | $121K | 15.1% | 0.0% | 0% | B− |
| 1,124 | Tangent OR | 1,245 | $99K | 20.4% | 14.9% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Vermont.
How Washington compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Williamstown (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Washington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | – | B− | C+ | 31 min | $66,103 |
| Corinth | under 2% | C | B | 35 min | $89,167 |
| Chelsea | under 2% | D | B | 30 min | $65,913 |
| Williamstown | 4% | B+ | D | 23 min | $94,418 |
| Orange | under 2% | C+ | D | 28 min | $71,302 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$66,103 (±$7,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washington?
3.2%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washington?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washington work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Barre (16%, 10 mi), Berlin (11%, 12 mi), Montpelier (9%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washington walkable?
Washington is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.