At 9.4%, unemployment in Algona is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
At home: 5% of workers have no commute at all (Washington 20%). The two grades for Algona are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Algona and work: the main findings
Algona trades workers with the towns around it
Algona has about as many jobs (1,407) as working residents (1,555), but they are mostly different people: 1,533 residents leave for work each day while 1,385 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Algona are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Algona pay over $40,000 a year
78% of the jobs based in Algona pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Algona’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Algona is Seattle, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (245) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Algona makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Algona are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Algona residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 21%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Algona are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
How Algona earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Algona is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #200 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Algona’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Algona could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Algona on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,533 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 1,385 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 (0.90 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.
40% of the jobs in Algona make or build things
1,407 jobs are based in Algona.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Algona, 2013 → 2023: 1,463 → 1,407. 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 Algona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Algona goes to work
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.
16% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Algona clocks in
16% of workers
13% 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.
Algona’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Algona workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,350 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Algona, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Algona is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #39 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Algona 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 1,424 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 99% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 3.9% of Algona households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Algona’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,261st of 4,453: where Algona ranks among U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Lake Holm WA | 3,555 | $177K | 1.1% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,259 | Arcola IL | 2,928 | $90K | 9.6% | 5.4% | 33% | B− |
| 2,260 | Rock Rapids IA | 2,733 | $64K | 6.5% | 3.8% | 38% | B− |
| 2,261 | Algona WA | 3,253 | $85K | 12.1% | 9.4% | 1% | B− |
| 2,262 | Lawrence Township NJ | 3,167 | $86K | 8.0% | 5.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,263 | Pierrepont NY | 2,525 | $93K | 4.8% | 5.2% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Algona, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
The towns next door employ 13% of Algona
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Algona workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algona | – | B− | A | 28 min | $85,332 |
| Auburn | 13% | B+ | A | 31 min | $97,884 |
| Lakeland South | under 3% | B+ | B+ | 30 min | $110,735 |
| Pacific | under 3% | B+ | B+ | 32 min | $115,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Auburn. Darker towns draw more of Algona’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 Algona: questions
What is the median household income in Algona?
$85,332 (±$7,259) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Algona?
12.1%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Algona?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Algona work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (16%, 24 mi), Auburn (13%, 2 mi), Kent (9%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Algona walkable?
Algona is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Algona without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 99% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Algona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Algona
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.