Photo: Crispin Stichart · CC BY-SA 3.0Colville has 1.9 jobs for every working resident: 3,369 people commute in to work
Jobs & income D: better than 13% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #269 of 285 in Washington.
Walkability A: more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns · #106 of 285 in Washington.
Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 14 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26). About two in five work in Colville; the top destination outside it is Spokane (12%, 64 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Colville
Commutes from Colville are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
Colville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Colville is Spokane, 64 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (258) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Colville is where the jobs are
Colville has 4,290 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,200 people are in town, 41% more than the 5,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 Colville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colville is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #269 of 285 in Washington. Unemployment holds Colville’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.9%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colville could be anywhere from D− to C+.
About 14 minutes each way, quicker than most of Washington
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colville workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,635 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Colville commutes less than 12 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 42% 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.
Colville fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,297 residents head out to work, 921 work right here, and 3,369 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,200 people are in Colville on a workday afternoon, 41% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Colville’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Colville clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 4,290 jobs in Colville are
4,290 jobs are based in Colville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Colville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colville, 2013 → 2023: 3,286 → 4,290. 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.
Colville is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Colville is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #106 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Colville 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 1,913 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). 13.6% of Colville households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Colville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Colville is 3,245th of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Colville, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,243 | Ridgway PA | 3,893 | $53K | 13.0% | 6.7% | 21% | D |
| 3,244 | East Eldorado Township IL | 5,182 | $51K | 19.0% | 5.1% | 23% | D |
| 3,245 | Colville WA | 5,116 | $57K | 21.9% | 4.7% | 42% | D |
| 3,246 | Jeanerette LA | 4,484 | $43K | 38.7% | 5.7% | 5% | D |
| 3,247 | El Dorado Springs MO | 3,642 | $32K | 28.4% | 2.6% | 27% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
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 Colville: questions
What is the median household income in Colville?
$56,558 (±$6,520) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colville?
21.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colville?
14 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colville work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spokane (12%, 64 mi), Spokane Valley (5%, 68 mi), Kettle Falls (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colville walkable?
Colville is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colville
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.