Photo: Orange Suede Sofa · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Belfair (7.4%) than in 85% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle. Belfair grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For 6% of workers, the job is at home, where Washington as a whole has 20%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Belfair, in brief
Belfair has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Belfair went from 726 in 2013 to 1,112 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Belfair are in trade, transport and utilities, against 20% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Belfair
62% of Belfair residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Belfair pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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.
The four measures behind Belfair’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belfair is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #221 of 285 in Washington. The poverty rate holds Belfair’s grade up (6.4%, U.S. 12.5%); 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, Belfair could be anywhere from C− to A−.
The kinds of work in Belfair
1,112 jobs are based in Belfair.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belfair, 2013 → 2023: 726 → 1,112. 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 Belfair’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Belfair
On a workday 1,355 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 1,040 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.
11% of working residents work in Bremerton
Where Belfair clocks in
11% of workers
10% 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.
How long Belfair spends getting to work: 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 Belfair workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,658 commuters (the 6% 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 Belfair
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Belfair
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belfair is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #152 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% 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 1,766 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 72% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 7.5% of Belfair households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Belfair’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,493rd of 3,938: where Belfair ranks among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Lake Holm WA | 3,555 | $177K | 1.1% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,491 | Buckhorn CA | 3,504 | $90K | 10.9% | 3.7% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,492 | Country Homes WA | 6,198 | $85K | 14.2% | 7.8% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,493 | Belfair WA | 4,557 | $88K | 6.4% | 7.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,494 | Imlay City MI | 3,753 | $60K | 23.5% | 2.1% | 20% | C+ |
| 2,495 | Dillon MT | 4,271 | $61K | 11.5% | 1.2% | 45% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | 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 Belfair, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
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 Belfair: questions
What is the median household income in Belfair?
$88,150 (±$12,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belfair?
6.4%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belfair?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belfair work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bremerton (11%, 9 mi), Seattle (10%, 26 mi), Tacoma (5%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belfair walkable?
Belfair is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belfair without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belfair, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belfair
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.