Photo: Public domain · Public domainFerndale has lower unemployment (3.1%) than 68% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Ferndale itself; outside it, Bellingham draws the most (34%, 9 miles). Jobs and income earn Ferndale B; getting around on foot earns it B−. Working residents average 22 minutes each way (Washington 27, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ferndale: the figures worth knowing
Ferndale trades workers with the towns around it
Ferndale has about as many jobs (6,126) as working residents (6,897), but they are mostly different people: 5,980 residents leave for work each day while 5,209 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Ferndale are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Ferndale and Bellingham trade workers both ways
Bellingham is the top workplace for Ferndale residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Ferndale come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Ferndale residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Ferndale are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
Ferndale makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Ferndale are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ferndale residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. 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.
Inside Ferndale’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ferndale is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #168 of 285 in Washington. Unemployment holds Ferndale’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (12.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ferndale could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Ferndale
On a workday 5,980 residents head out to work, 917 work right here, and 5,209 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 (0.89 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.
Where Ferndale goes to work
Where Ferndale clocks in
34% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Ferndale’s commute, mile by mile
About 23% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Ferndale’s commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ferndale workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,549 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Ferndale makes things: 35% of its jobs are in goods
6,126 jobs are based in Ferndale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ferndale, 2013 → 2023: 5,092 → 6,126. 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 Ferndale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Ferndale, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ferndale is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #210 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Ferndale 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 7,719 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). 7.1% of Ferndale households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ferndale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ferndale places 1,229th of 2,103 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,227 | Auburn CA | 13,847 | $83K | 13.0% | 4.0% | 13% | B |
| 1,228 | Chesterton IN | 14,635 | $91K | 9.3% | 6.7% | 14% | B |
| 1,229 | Ferndale WA | 17,559 | $88K | 12.8% | 3.1% | 13% | B |
| 1,230 | Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace FL | 14,755 | $59K | 15.5% | 1.9% | 6% | B |
| 1,231 | Hawaiian Gardens CA | 13,373 | $76K | 16.3% | 4.8% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Ferndale, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Around Ferndale: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Marietta-Alderwood (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ferndale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale | – | B | B− | 22 min | $87,579 |
| Marietta-Alderwood | 2% | B+ | C+ | 18 min | $76,019 |
| Custer | 1% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Custer: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ferndale’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 Ferndale: questions
What is the median household income in Ferndale?
$87,579 (±$12,119) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ferndale?
12.8%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ferndale?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ferndale work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bellingham (34%, 9 mi), Seattle (4%, 86 mi), Lynden (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ferndale walkable?
Ferndale is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ferndale without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ferndale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ferndale
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.