Photo: Elwood j blues · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Brier top those of 92% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle. The poverty rate is 6.7%, against 9.9% across Washington. For jobs and income Brier is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Brier, in brief
Brier is a place people come home to
There are 360 jobs based in Brier, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Brier has about 3,900 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
One in three of Brier works in Seattle
1,058 working residents, 34%, have their main job in Seattle, 13 miles away. That’s 34 times as many as work in Brier itself. The commute map ↓
A lot of Brier works from home
30% of Brier workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
Three in four Brier workers earn over $40,000 a year
78% of Brier’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. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Brier
Household income is its strongest input ($132,045, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, 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, Brier could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Brier
On a workday 3,076 residents head out to work, 30 work right here, and 330 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,900 people are in Brier on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.12 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.
34% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Brier clocks in
34% of workers
7% 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.
The trip to work from Brier: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brier workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,146 commuters (the 30% 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.
68% of the jobs in Brier pay over $3,333 a month
360 jobs are based in Brier.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brier, 2013 → 2023: 240 → 360. 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 Brier’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Brier commutes
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: Brier
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,048 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 0.7% of Brier households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Brier’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brier next to U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900: 377th of 3,283 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 198 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 230 | Orting WA | 8,884 | $133K | 2.4% | 2.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Villa Hills KY | 7,797 | $108K | 3.7% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 376 | Herculaneum MO | 5,402 | $93K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 2% | A |
| 377 | Brier WA | 6,597 | $132K | 6.7% | 3.3% | 1% | A |
| 378 | Onalaska WI | 5,809 | $107K | 2.7% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| 379 | East Petersburg PA | 4,702 | $92K | 3.3% | 2.9% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 Brier, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Brier and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Mountlake Terrace (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brier workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brier | – | A | A− | 31 min | $132,045 |
| Bothell West | under 3% | A+ | A− | 32 min | $153,449 |
| Alderwood Manor | under 3% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $105,181 |
| Mountlake Terrace | 2% | A− | A | 28 min | $107,687 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brier’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 Brier: questions
What is the median household income in Brier?
$132,045 (±$25,811) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brier?
6.7%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brier?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brier work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (34%, 12 mi), Everett (7%, 12 mi), Bellevue (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brier walkable?
Brier is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brier without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brier, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brier
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.