Photo: Kgrr · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Hobart are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
3.5% of residents are in poverty, where Washington as a whole has 9.9%. The two grades for Hobart are A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 1% stay in Hobart for work; outside it, Seattle is the main destination (18%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Hobart apart on work
Hobart workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Hobart is a place people come home to
There are 798 jobs based in Hobart, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Hobart has about 4,400 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Hobart makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Hobart are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Hobart residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. 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.
How Hobart earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hobart is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #21 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($160,536, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns). 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, Hobart could be anywhere from A− to A+.
How long Hobart spends getting to work: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hobart workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,354 commuters (the 23% 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.
Hobart by day and by night
On a workday 2,951 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 759 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Hobart on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.27 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 2023, primary jobs.
37% of the jobs in Hobart make or build things
798 jobs are based in Hobart.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hobart, 2013 → 2023: 967 → 798. 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 Hobart’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Hobart commutes to
Where Hobart clocks in
18% of workers
8% 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.
Miles to work from Hobart
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.
Getting around Hobart: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hobart is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns, #220 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Hobart 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 3,058 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 12% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 2.1% of Hobart households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hobart’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,800, Hobart ranks 251st of 3,218 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 188 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Stratham NH | 7,735 | $152K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 7% | A |
| 250 | Redland AL | 4,982 | $130K | 1.4% | 2.5% | 1% | A |
| 251 | Hobart WA | 6,552 | $161K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| 252 | Bee Cave TX | 8,464 | $111K | 2.2% | 3.1% | 8% | A |
| 253 | North Bend WA | 8,758 | $175K | 4.1% | 2.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Black Diamond WA | 6,978 | $141K | 2.1% | 1.3% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,218 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Hobart, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Work in the towns next to Hobart
The biggest share goes to Maple Valley (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hobart workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | – | A | B− | 36 min | $160,536 |
| Mirrormont | under 3% | A | C+ | 36 min | $181,842 |
| Maple Valley | 6% | A− | B+ | 37 min | $152,885 |
| East Renton Highlands | under 3% | A− | A− | 32 min | $142,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hobart’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 Hobart: questions
What is the median household income in Hobart?
$160,536 (±$16,941) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hobart?
3.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hobart?
36 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hobart work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (18%, 22 mi), Kent (8%, 10 mi), Bellevue (8%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hobart walkable?
Hobart is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hobart without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hobart, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hobart
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.