Households in Esperance have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 10.5% of residents (Washington 9.9%). The two grades for Esperance are A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Hardly any work in Esperance itself; outside it, Seattle draws the most (36%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Esperance: the gist
Esperance is a place people come home to
There are 186 jobs based in Esperance, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Esperance has about 2,500 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
36% of Esperance works in Seattle
684 working residents, 36%, have their main job in Seattle, 12 miles away. That’s far more as work in Esperance itself. The commute map ↓
Three in four Esperance workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of Esperance’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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Esperance
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Esperance is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #55 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Esperance’s grade up ($148,640, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Esperance could be anywhere from B to A+.
Esperance by day and by night
On a workday 1,908 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 183 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Esperance on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
0.10 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.
The places Esperance commutes to
Where Esperance clocks in
36% 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.
66% of the jobs in Esperance pay over $3,333 a month
186 jobs are based in Esperance.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Esperance, 2013 → 2023: 167 → 186. 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 Esperance’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Esperance: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Esperance workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,801 commuters (the 23% 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.
How far Esperance’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.
Esperance is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,330 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 13.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 0.8% of Esperance households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Esperance’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Esperance ranks: 595th of 4,195 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 593 | Palm Springs North FL | 5,410 | $99K | 10.4% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| 594 | Delhi Hills OH | 5,241 | $99K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 1% | A |
| 595 | Esperance WA | 4,189 | $149K | 10.5% | 3.2% | <1% | A |
| 596 | Edgewood PA | 2,997 | $103K | 5.3% | 4.4% | 3% | A |
| 597 | Sinking Spring PA | 4,584 | $83K | 7.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,195 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Esperance, 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 Esperance: questions
What is the median household income in Esperance?
$148,640 (±$26,093) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Esperance?
10.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Esperance?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Esperance work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (36%, 12 mi), Edmonds (7%, 1 mi), Lynnwood (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Esperance walkable?
Esperance is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.0 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Esperance without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Esperance, from the people who make the trip.
More of Esperance
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.