Photo: Steven Baltakatei Sandoval · CC BY-SA 4.0Battle Ground’s household incomes are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Battle Ground; the top destination outside it is Vancouver (25%, 10 miles). 5.9% of residents live below the poverty line, where Washington as a whole has 9.9%. For jobs and income Battle Ground is better than 76% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Battle Ground stands out on work
A lot of Battle Ground workers cross into Oregon
18% of Battle Ground workers work outside Washington, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Portland (13%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Battle Ground and Vancouver trade workers both ways
Vancouver is the top workplace for Battle Ground residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Battle Ground come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Battle Ground has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Battle Ground went from 4,140 in 2013 to 6,555 in 2023, +58%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Battle Ground are held by workers 29 or younger, against 24% of Battle Ground’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Battle Ground draws workers from far and wide
The 6,555 jobs in Battle Ground are filled from a wide area. Battle Ground’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 57% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Battle Ground’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($104,977, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Battle Ground could be anywhere from B to A.
Out of Battle Ground to work: where people go
Where Battle Ground clocks in
25% 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.
In Battle Ground, 33% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
6,555 jobs are based in Battle Ground.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Battle Ground, 2013 → 2023: 4,140 → 6,555. 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 Battle Ground’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Battle Ground for work, and who comes in
On a workday 8,826 residents head out to work, 793 work right here, and 5,762 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Battle Ground on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
About 27 minutes each way for Battle Ground’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Battle Ground workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,666 commuters (the 14% 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.
Miles to work from Battle Ground
About 19% 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.
Few in Battle Ground walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,111 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 34% 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 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 3.8% of Battle Ground households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Battle Ground’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Battle Ground is 703rd among 1,780 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 32,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 201 | Cottage Lake WA | 22,518 | $213K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 701 | Agawam Town MA | 28,783 | $85K | 6.7% | 4.0% | 16% | A− |
| 702 | Lower Southampton Township PA | 20,414 | $103K | 4.9% | 7.6% | 9% | A− |
| 703 | Battle Ground WA | 23,513 | $105K | 5.9% | 3.7% | 8% | A− |
| 704 | Moraga CA | 16,322 | $216K | 7.3% | 6.4% | 6% | A− |
| 705 | Goshen Township OH | 16,783 | $78K | 8.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,780 | 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 Battle Ground, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door to Battle Ground
The biggest share goes to Brush Prairie (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Battle Ground workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Ground | – | A− | B+ | 27 min | $104,977 |
| Hockinson | under 2% | A | B− | 26 min | $113,295 |
| Meadow Glade | under 2% | A+ | B− | 28 min | $129,427 |
| Lewisville | under 2% | A− | B− | 27 min | $125,647 |
| Cherry Grove | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Venersborg | under 2% | B | D | 32 min | $118,344 |
| Brush Prairie | 4% | A− | B− | 18 min | $122,827 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cherry Grove: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Battle Ground’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 Battle Ground: questions
What is the median household income in Battle Ground?
$104,977 (±$8,220) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Battle Ground?
5.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Battle Ground?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Battle Ground work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vancouver (25%, 10 mi), Portland (13%, 17 mi), Brush Prairie (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Battle Ground walkable?
Battle Ground is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Battle Ground without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Battle Ground, from the people who make the trip.
More of Battle Ground
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.