Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Fox Island has higher household incomes than 97% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 39 minutes getting to work on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 1.3% of residents live below the poverty line (Washington 9.9%). Fox Island grades A for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Fox Island, in a few figures
Fox Island workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fox Island is a place people come home to
There are 178 jobs based in Fox Island, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Fox Island has about 2,200 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 Fox Island
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fox Island is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #27 of 285 in Washington. The poverty rate holds Fox Island’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 48% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fox Island could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting from Fox Island: about 39 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fox Island workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,114 commuters (the 25% 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.
Fox Island quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,326 residents head out to work, 43 work right here, and 135 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Fox Island on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.13 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 2024, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Tacoma
Where Fox Island clocks in
13% of workers
9% 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.
69% of the jobs in Fox Island pay over $3,333 a month
178 jobs are based in Fox Island.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fox Island, 2014 → 2024: 123 → 178. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fox Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Fox Island goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Fox Island, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fox Island is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #262 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Fox Island 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 1,483 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.3% of Fox Island households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fox Island’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Fox Island is 307th among 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 305 | Brockway Township MN | 3,016 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 2% | A |
| 306 | Marion Township OH | 3,269 | $101K | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1% | A |
| 307 | Fox Island WA | 3,414 | $172K | 1.3% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| 308 | Smithton IL | 3,868 | $135K | 3.4% | 3.3% | 2% | A |
| 309 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Fox Island, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
The towns next door employ 15% of Fox Island
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fox Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Island | – | A | C− | 39 min | $172,292 |
| Artondale | under 2% | A | C− | 29 min | $149,302 |
| Tacoma | 15% | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,884 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tacoma. Darker towns draw more of Fox Island’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 2024, 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 Fox Island: questions
What is the median household income in Fox Island?
$172,292 (±$39,397) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fox Island?
1.3%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fox Island?
39 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fox Island work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (15%, 9 mi), Seattle (13%, 29 mi), Gig Harbor (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fox Island walkable?
Fox Island is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fox Island without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fox Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fox Island
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.