Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Bothell’s household incomes are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A: better than 92% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #29 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability A: more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns · #63 of 285 in Washington.
Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Bothell; the top destination outside it is Seattle (26%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Bothell, in brief
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
80% of Bothell’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 80% of the jobs based in Bothell. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in Bothell
33% of Bothell workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
Bothell and Seattle trade workers both ways
Seattle is the top workplace for Bothell residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Bothell come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Bothell draws workers from far and wide
The 32,491 jobs in Bothell are filled from a wide area. Bothell’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 61% 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.
What’s behind Bothell’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bothell is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #29 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($140,427, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Bothell could be anywhere from A to A+.
80% of the jobs in Bothell pay over $3,333 a month
32,491 jobs are based in Bothell. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bothell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bothell, 2013 → 2023: 26,591 → 32,491. 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.
About 28 minutes each way, about the WA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bothell workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,226 commuters (the 33% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
26% of working residents work in Seattle
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Bothell clocks in
26% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Bothell fills up on a workday
On a workday 20,916 residents head out to work, 2,036 work right here, and 30,455 people come in from elsewhere.
About 62,000 people are in Bothell on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 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.
Half of Bothell commutes less than 10 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Bothell is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bothell is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #63 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Bothell 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 25,681 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 27.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 4.4% of Bothell households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Bothell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bothell is 96th of 830 U.S. towns of 37,000 to 70,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bothell, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Sammamish WA | 66,110 | $240K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Strongsville OH | 45,629 | $103K | 5.3% | 2.7% | 11% | A |
| 95 | Wayne Township IL | 63,935 | $137K | 4.3% | 4.5% | 5% | A |
| 96 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| 97 | Bowie MD | 58,383 | $142K | 3.8% | 4.7% | 5% | A |
| 98 | Palo Alto CA | 67,609 | $231K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 830 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
Bothell and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kirkland (7%). Darker towns draw more of Bothell’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bothell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bothell | – | A | A | 28 min | $140,427 |
| Woodinville | 2% | A | A | 26 min | $164,398 |
| Bothell West | under 2% | A+ | A− | 32 min | $153,449 |
| Bothell East | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $198,882 |
| Kenmore | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $139,764 |
| Kirkland | 7% | A | A+ | 24 min | $150,414 |
| Maltby | under 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $185,457 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Bothell: questions
What is the median household income in Bothell?
$140,427 (±$7,991) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bothell?
4.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bothell?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bothell work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (26%, 13 mi), Redmond (13%, 8 mi), Bellevue (11%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bothell walkable?
Bothell is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bothell without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bothell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bothell
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.