Photo: Dcoetzee · Public domainUnemployment in Bremerton (5.7%) is higher than in 71% of U.S. towns
12% of workers work from home (Washington 20%). For jobs and income Bremerton is better than 36% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Bremerton apart on work
Bremerton trades workers with the towns around it
Bremerton has about as many jobs (15,924) as working residents (14,553), but they are mostly different people: 11,754 residents leave for work each day while 13,125 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Bremerton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bremerton draws workers from far and wide
The 15,924 jobs in Bremerton are filled from a wide area. Bremerton’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Bremerton
Job access by car holds Bremerton’s grade up (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bremerton could be anywhere from C to B−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 11,754 residents head out to work, 2,799 work right here, and 13,125 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 (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
16% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Bremerton clocks in
16% 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.
67% of the jobs in Bremerton pay over $3,333 a month
15,924 jobs are based in Bremerton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bremerton, 2014 → 2024: 14,632 → 15,924. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bremerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Bremerton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bremerton workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,113 commuters (the 12% 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 commute from Bremerton, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
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: Bremerton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bremerton is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #2 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Bremerton 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 23,962 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 59% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 8.3% of Bremerton households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Bremerton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 953 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000, Bremerton comes 776th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 774 | Torrington CT | 35,796 | $71K | 13.7% | 6.8% | 24% | C+ |
| 775 | Prescott AZ | 48,420 | $71K | 11.7% | 4.5% | 37% | C+ |
| 776 | Bremerton WA | 45,482 | $75K | 13.8% | 5.7% | 19% | C+ |
| 777 | Moline IL | 42,362 | $68K | 15.5% | 6.8% | 20% | C+ |
| 778 | Palm Springs CA | 45,315 | $73K | 11.8% | 7.7% | 29% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Bremerton, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
The towns around Bremerton
The biggest share goes to Port Orchard (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bremerton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bremerton | – | C+ | A+ | 25 min | $74,940 |
| Rocky Point | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 28 min | $85,521 |
| Navy Yard City | under 2% | B− | A | 20 min | $69,852 |
| Enetai | under 2% | B | A | 23 min | $87,870 |
| Kitsap Lake | under 2% | B | B | 24 min | $100,602 |
| Tracyton | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $103,935 |
| Gorst | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Port Orchard | 4% | B | A | 33 min | $89,795 |
| Erlands Point | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Gorst and Erlands Point: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bremerton’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 2024, 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 Bremerton: questions
What is the median household income in Bremerton?
$74,940 (±$3,707) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bremerton?
13.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bremerton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bremerton work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (16%, 18 mi), Silverdale (7%, 9 mi), Tacoma (5%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Bremerton walkable?
Bremerton is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 22% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bremerton without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 59% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bremerton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bremerton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.