Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Blaine (5.5%) than in 68% of U.S. towns
Blaine grades C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in five stay in Blaine for work; outside it, Bellingham is the main destination (24%, 20 miles). Working residents average 18 minutes each way, where Washington has 27 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Blaine apart
Blaine trades workers with the towns around it
Blaine has about as many jobs (2,719) as working residents (2,400), but they are mostly different people: 1,987 residents leave for work each day while 2,306 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Blaine are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Blaine are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington 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.
Jobs & income in Blaine: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blaine is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #230 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Blaine’s grade up ($84,030, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 32% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blaine could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Who leaves Blaine for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,987 residents head out to work, 413 work right here, and 2,306 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 (1.13 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.
Getting to work from Blaine takes 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 Blaine workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,954 commuters (the 22% 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.
The towns that employ Blaine’s residents
Where Blaine clocks in
24% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Blaine: what the 2,719 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blaine, 2013 → 2023: 2,821 → 2,719. 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 Blaine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Blaine commutes less than 19 miles
About 26% 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.
Most of Blaine commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blaine is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #206 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 2,512 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). 2.6% of Blaine households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blaine’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700, Blaine ranks 2,321st of 3,306 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 259 | Hobart WA | 6,552 | $161K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,319 | Oroville East CA | 7,504 | $95K | 8.7% | 12.4% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,320 | Fairview GA | 5,302 | $64K | 13.1% | 4.1% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,321 | Blaine WA | 6,475 | $84K | 13.1% | 5.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,322 | Kirkwood NY | 5,274 | $59K | 15.2% | 3.9% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,323 | Mount Vernon IN | 6,289 | $62K | 14.9% | 3.9% | 20% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Blaine, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door to Blaine
The biggest share goes to Birch Bay (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Blaine’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 Blaine: questions
What is the median household income in Blaine?
$84,030 (±$8,001) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blaine?
13.1%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blaine?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blaine work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bellingham (24%, 20 mi), Seattle (5%, 96 mi), Ferndale (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blaine walkable?
Blaine is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blaine without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blaine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blaine
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.