Graham has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns. 2,066 jobs are based in Graham for 14,177 working residents. Graham grades B+ for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Graham at work: what stands out
Graham workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Graham is a place people come home to
There are 2,066 jobs based in Graham, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Graham has about 23,000 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Graham has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Graham went from 1,295 in 2013 to 2,066 in 2023, +60%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Graham’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Graham is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #110 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Graham’s grade up ($116,862, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Graham could be anywhere from B to A−.
Commuting from Graham: about 43 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Graham workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,323 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.
Graham on a workday afternoon
On a workday 13,869 residents head out to work, 308 work right here, and 1,758 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Graham on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
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 kinds of work in Graham
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Graham, 2013 → 2023: 1,295 → 2,066. 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 Graham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
13% of working residents work in Tacoma
Where Graham clocks in
9% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Graham
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.
Few in Graham walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Graham is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #247 of 285 in Washington. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.9% across Washington, on an EPA index of 5.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,047 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). 3.5% of Graham households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Graham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,194 U.S. towns of 25,000 to 47,000, Graham comes 569th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 567 | Bedford Township MI | 32,013 | $90K | 7.1% | 4.3% | 11% | B+ |
| 568 | Forney TX | 41,658 | $104K | 8.8% | 5.9% | 5% | B+ |
| 569 | Graham WA | 35,079 | $117K | 5.9% | 5.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 570 | Monrovia CA | 38,264 | $96K | 10.3% | 5.1% | 8% | B+ |
| 571 | Marion IA | 42,732 | $87K | 8.1% | 3.6% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,194 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Graham, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Graham and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to South Hill (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Graham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham | – | B+ | C | 43 min | $116,862 |
| Elk Plain | under 3% | A− | D | 37 min | $107,313 |
| Kapowsin | under 3% | — | — | 45 min | — |
| South Hill | 3% | A− | B+ | 34 min | $113,130 |
| Frederickson | under 3% | B+ | B | 36 min | $109,500 |
| South Creek | under 3% | B− | D | 44 min | $84,759 |
Same-state neighbors only. Kapowsin: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Graham’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 Graham: questions
What is the median household income in Graham?
$116,862 (±$5,411) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Graham?
5.9%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Graham?
43 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Graham work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tacoma (13%, 17 mi), Seattle (9%, 41 mi), Puyallup (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Graham walkable?
Graham is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Graham without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Graham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Graham
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.