Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 4.0Hoquiam has higher unemployment (10.0%) than 94% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Hoquiam is behind 88% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Hoquiam D; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Hoquiam: the gist
Hoquiam and Aberdeen trade workers both ways
Aberdeen is the top workplace for Hoquiam residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Hoquiam come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Hoquiam are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Washington. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Washington worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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: Hoquiam’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hoquiam is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #282 of 285 in Washington. The poverty rate holds Hoquiam’s grade up (17.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hoquiam could be anywhere from D− to C−.
20% of working residents work in Aberdeen
Where Hoquiam clocks in
20% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Washington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hoquiam workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,028 commuters (the 7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Hoquiam
About 38% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
How many people are in Hoquiam by day
On a workday 3,478 residents head out to work, 489 work right here, and 1,606 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,800 people are in Hoquiam on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.53 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.
The kinds of work in Hoquiam
2,095 jobs are based in Hoquiam.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hoquiam, 2013 → 2023: 2,300 → 2,095. 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 Hoquiam’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Hoquiam
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hoquiam is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #96 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Hoquiam 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 3,240 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 65% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 10.2% of Hoquiam households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hoquiam’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hoquiam next to U.S. towns of 6,100 to 11,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Maltby WA | 10,910 | $185K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Normandy Park WA | 6,609 | $162K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 223 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,854 | Piñon Hills CA | 7,065 | $68K | 18.6% | 19.4% | 3% | D |
| 2,855 | Columbia MS | 6,525 | $39K | 24.5% | 8.3% | 37% | D |
| 2,856 | Hoquiam WA | 8,710 | $50K | 17.2% | 10.0% | 12% | D |
| 2,857 | Weiser ID | 6,249 | $45K | 20.5% | 5.9% | 31% | D |
| 2,858 | Portales NM | 11,734 | $51K | 28.1% | 7.4% | 41% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,927 | 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 Hoquiam, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Hoquiam and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Aberdeen. Darker towns draw more of Hoquiam’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 Hoquiam: questions
What is the median household income in Hoquiam?
$49,795 (±$11,712) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hoquiam?
17.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hoquiam?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hoquiam work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aberdeen (20%, 5 mi), Seattle (5%, 85 mi), Olympia (3%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hoquiam walkable?
Hoquiam is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hoquiam without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 65% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hoquiam, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hoquiam
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.