Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, NV, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0A job hub: Gig Harbor has 2.1 jobs per working resident, and 9,203 people come in to work
Measured by household income, Gig Harbor is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. 9,670 jobs are based in Gig Harbor; 4,709 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Gig Harbor A; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Gig Harbor and work: the main findings
Gig Harbor is where the jobs are
Gig Harbor has 9,670 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Gig Harbor and Tacoma trade workers both ways
Tacoma is the top workplace for Gig Harbor residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Gig Harbor come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Gig Harbor draws workers from far and wide
The 9,670 jobs in Gig Harbor are filled from a wide area. Gig Harbor’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Gig Harbor workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Gig Harbor
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gig Harbor is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #50 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($118,395, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gig Harbor could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Gig Harbor
On a workday 4,242 residents head out to work and 467 work right here.
About 18,000 people are in Gig Harbor on a workday afternoon, 39% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Gig Harbor’s workforce comes from
Where Gig Harbor clocks in
14% 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.
From Gig Harbor, about 32 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gig Harbor workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,955 commuters (the 24% 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.
What Gig Harbor’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gig Harbor, 2014 → 2024: 7,254 → 9,670. 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 Gig Harbor’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Gig Harbor 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.
Gig Harbor is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gig Harbor is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #70 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Gig Harbor 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 5,209 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 39% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 3.2% of Gig Harbor households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Gig Harbor’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, Gig Harbor ranks 523rd of 2,354 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Snoqualmie WA | 13,640 | $214K | 0.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 521 | Winfield Township IN | 14,879 | $133K | 4.7% | 3.5% | 4% | A |
| 522 | Freetown MA | 9,443 | $144K | 3.1% | 4.6% | 11% | A |
| 523 | Gig Harbor WA | 12,630 | $118K | 7.0% | 2.7% | 10% | A |
| 524 | South Lyon MI | 12,107 | $92K | 4.0% | 3.7% | 6% | A |
| 525 | Big Lake MN | 12,929 | $121K | 5.6% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Gig Harbor, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Gig Harbor and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Purdy (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gig Harbor workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Harbor | – | A | A | 32 min | $118,395 |
| Maplewood | under 2% | B+ | B− | 33 min | $135,943 |
| Rosedale | under 2% | A− | C | 23 min | $158,800 |
| Wollochet | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 25 min | $149,271 |
| Canterwood | under 2% | B+ | C | 35 min | $159,808 |
| Artondale | under 2% | A | C− | 29 min | $149,302 |
| Purdy | 4% | A | B− | 21 min | $91,204 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gig Harbor’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 Gig Harbor: questions
What is the median household income in Gig Harbor?
$118,395 (±$9,381) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gig Harbor?
7.0%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gig Harbor?
32 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gig Harbor work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (15%, 9 mi), Seattle (14%, 23 mi), Purdy (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Gig Harbor walkable?
Gig Harbor is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gig Harbor without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gig Harbor, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gig Harbor
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.