There are 3.6 jobs in Fife for every working resident, and 18,204 people commute in
Fife has 18,657 jobs, and 5,209 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Fife B; getting around on foot earns it A−. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Fife, in brief
Fife fills up on a workday
Fife has 18,657 jobs, 3.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 25,000 people are in town, more than double the 11,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
52% of the jobs in Fife are in trade, transport and utilities, against 28% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Fife’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Fife is Seattle, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (732) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Fife pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Fife pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Fife draws workers from far and wide
The 18,657 jobs in Fife are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 42%; the other 56% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Fife’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fife is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #147 of 285 in Washington. Job access by car holds Fife’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fife could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Fife
On a workday 4,756 residents head out to work and 453 work right here.
About 25,000 people are in Fife on a workday afternoon, 122% more than live here.
3.6 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.
74% of the jobs in Fife pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fife, 2013 → 2023: 15,248 → 18,657. 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 Fife’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fife
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.
Where Fife’s workforce comes from
Where Fife clocks in
14% of workers
5% 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.
Time on the road from Fife: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fife workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,228 commuters (the 11% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Fife
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fife is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #148 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 5,887 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 57% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 3.0% of Fife households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fife’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fife next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000: 1,208th of 2,507 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,206 | Ingleside TX | 10,085 | $69K | 10.0% | 2.1% | 16% | B |
| 1,207 | Hyrum UT | 11,132 | $89K | 8.6% | 3.3% | 11% | B |
| 1,208 | Fife WA | 11,061 | $91K | 11.2% | 5.2% | 9% | B |
| 1,209 | Logan Township PA | 12,147 | $73K | 10.6% | 2.0% | 11% | B |
| 1,210 | Riverdale UT | 9,206 | $67K | 11.1% | 2.6% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Fife, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Bordering towns draw 18% of Fife’s workers
The biggest share goes to Tacoma (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fife workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fife | – | B | A− | 27 min | $90,532 |
| Tacoma | 13% | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,884 |
| Fife Heights | under 3% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $157,292 |
| Edgewood | under 3% | A+ | B | 28 min | $116,132 |
| Milton | under 3% | B+ | A | 30 min | $96,540 |
| Puyallup | 5% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $97,826 |
| Waller | under 3% | A− | B− | 32 min | $101,490 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fife’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 Fife: questions
What is the median household income in Fife?
$90,532 (±$7,680) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fife?
11.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fife?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fife work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (14%, 27 mi), Tacoma (13%, 5 mi), Kent (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fife walkable?
Fife is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fife without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fife, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fife
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.