Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Edmonds are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 3.8% of residents, where Washington as a whole has 9.9%. Jobs and income earn Edmonds A; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Edmonds
One in three of Edmonds works in Seattle
6,621 working residents, 35%, have their main job in Seattle, 13 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Edmonds itself. The commute map ↓
A lot of Edmonds works from home
28% of Edmonds workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
Three in four Edmonds workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Edmonds’ 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.
Why Edmonds gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Edmonds is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #35 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($122,449, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, 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, Edmonds could be anywhere from A− to A+.
35% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Edmonds clocks in
35% of workers
7% 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.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Edmonds
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Edmonds workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,329 commuters (the 27% 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.
65% of the jobs in Edmonds pay over $3,333 a month
12,894 jobs are based in Edmonds.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Edmonds, 2013 → 2023: 10,360 → 12,894. 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 Edmonds’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Edmonds by day and by night
On a workday 17,668 residents head out to work, 1,382 work right here, and 11,512 people come in from elsewhere.
About 37,000 people are in Edmonds on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
How far Edmonds goes to work
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.
Edmonds is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Edmonds is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #35 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Edmonds 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 22,516 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 3.1% of Edmonds households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Edmonds’ commuters take a bus or train.
147th of 1,011: where Edmonds ranks among U.S. towns of 30,000 to 58,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Brownsburg IN | 34,089 | $102K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 11% | A |
| 146 | Foster City CA | 32,411 | $199K | 4.1% | 4.9% | 8% | A |
| 147 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| 148 | Bristol Township IL | 36,464 | $109K | 3.0% | 3.5% | 4% | A |
| 149 | Pacifica CA | 36,890 | $161K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 331 | Lake Stevens WA | 42,091 | $122K | 5.2% | 4.8% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,011 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Edmonds, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door is work for 10% of Edmonds
The biggest share goes to Lynnwood (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Edmonds workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonds | – | A | A | 27 min | $122,449 |
| Lynnwood | 7% | B | A+ | 30 min | $77,704 |
| Mountlake Terrace | under 2% | A− | A | 28 min | $107,687 |
| Woodway | under 2% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $204,583 |
| Meadowdale | under 2% | A | A− | 26 min | $173,902 |
| Shoreline | 3% | A− | A+ | 27 min | $112,751 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Edmonds’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 Edmonds: questions
What is the median household income in Edmonds?
$122,449 (±$5,532) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Edmonds?
3.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Edmonds?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Edmonds work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (35%, 13 mi), Lynnwood (7%, 3 mi), Everett (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Edmonds walkable?
Edmonds is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Edmonds without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Edmonds, from the people who make the trip.
More of Edmonds
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.