Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Enumclaw are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 7.5% of residents (Washington 9.9%). The two grades for Enumclaw are B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.8 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
Enumclaw and work: the main findings
Enumclaw’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Enumclaw is Seattle, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (794) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Enumclaw workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Enumclaw draws workers from far and wide
The 5,005 jobs in Enumclaw are filled from a wide area. Enumclaw’s own residents hold 21% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 57% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Enumclaw
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Enumclaw is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #113 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Enumclaw’s grade up ($121,250, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Enumclaw could be anywhere from B− to A.
How far Enumclaw’s workers travel
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.
About 33 minutes to work from Enumclaw
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Enumclaw workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,681 commuters (the 14% 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.
13% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Enumclaw clocks in
13% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 and out of Enumclaw on a workday
On a workday 5,082 residents head out to work, 1,042 work right here, and 3,963 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 (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What the 5,005 jobs in Enumclaw are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Enumclaw, 2013 → 2023: 4,193 → 5,005. 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 Enumclaw’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Enumclaw
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Enumclaw is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #137 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,594 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 2.1% of Enumclaw households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Enumclaw’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Enumclaw is 1,055th of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,053 | Franklin Township NJ | 16,666 | $110K | 8.9% | 5.2% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,054 | Woodbury NY | 11,571 | $121K | 4.6% | 7.7% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,055 | Enumclaw WA | 13,172 | $121K | 7.5% | 3.7% | 17% | B+ |
| 1,056 | Kennebunk ME | 12,152 | $108K | 7.3% | 4.4% | 21% | B+ |
| 1,057 | Warren RI | 11,070 | $91K | 9.7% | 4.2% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Enumclaw, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
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 Enumclaw: questions
What is the median household income in Enumclaw?
$121,250 (±$8,840) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Enumclaw?
7.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Enumclaw?
33 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Enumclaw work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (13%, 33 mi), Kent (7%, 17 mi), Auburn (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Enumclaw walkable?
Enumclaw is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Enumclaw without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Enumclaw, from the people who make the trip.
More of Enumclaw
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.