Household incomes in Chain Lake are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Chain Lake grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 2.7%, where Washington as a whole has 9.9%. For 28% of workers, the job is at home (Washington 20%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Chain Lake
Chain Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Chain Lake is a place people come home to
There are 252 jobs based in Chain Lake, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Chain Lake has about 2,900 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Chain Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chain Lake is Seattle, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (322) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Three in four Chain Lake workers earn over $40,000 a year
78% of Chain Lake’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 ↓
Home offices are common in Chain Lake
28% of Chain Lake workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Chain Lake
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chain Lake is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #54 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($161,286, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, 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, Chain Lake could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
About 38 minutes each way for Chain Lake’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chain Lake workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,886 commuters (the 28% 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 daily commute in and out of Chain Lake
On a workday 2,286 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 240 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Chain Lake on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
0.11 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 2024, primary jobs.
How far Chain Lake’s workers travel
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.
Making and building: 31% of jobs based in Chain Lake
252 jobs are based in Chain Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chain Lake, 2014 → 2024: 176 → 252. 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 Chain Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
14% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Chain Lake clocks in
14% of workers
13% 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.
In Chain Lake, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chain Lake is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #227 of 285 in Washington. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.9% across Washington, on an EPA index of 4.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,634 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 1.6% of Chain Lake households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chain Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chain Lake places 575th of 3,692 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | Lake Holm WA | 3,555 | $177K | 1.1% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 573 | Wallace FL | 4,202 | $116K | 5.7% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| 574 | Lutherville MD | 6,574 | $114K | 4.2% | 5.3% | 2% | A |
| 575 | Chain Lake WA | 4,950 | $161K | 2.7% | 4.2% | 1% | A |
| 576 | Media PA | 5,920 | $89K | 4.1% | 4.2% | 9% | A |
| 577 | Milton WI | 6,024 | $86K | 6.5% | 0.9% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Chain Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door to Chain Lake
The biggest share goes to Monroe (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chain Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain Lake | – | A | C+ | 38 min | $161,286 |
| Three Lakes | under 3% | A | D− | 40 min | $172,879 |
| Monroe North | under 3% | A+ | A− | 33 min | $169,844 |
| Woods Creek | under 3% | B | B− | 40 min | $156,950 |
| Monroe | 7% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $110,461 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chain Lake’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 Chain Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Chain Lake?
$161,286 (±$21,539) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chain Lake?
2.7%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chain Lake?
38 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chain Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (14%, 26 mi), Everett (13%, 10 mi), Monroe (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Chain Lake walkable?
Chain Lake is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chain Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chain Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chain Lake
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.