Photo: BroMcjoe · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Indianola works elsewhere
There are 269 jobs in Indianola; 1,295 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Indianola are C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Indianola: the gist
Indianola workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Indianola is a place people come home to
There are 269 jobs based in Indianola, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Indianola has about 2,400 people in it, 30% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Indianola’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Indianola is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #216 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Indianola’s grade up ($98,684, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Indianola could be anywhere from C to B.
Indianola’s commute takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Indianola workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,326 commuters (the 21% 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.
Indianola on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,270 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 244 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Indianola on a workday afternoon, 30% 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 2024, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Indianola clocks in
17% of workers
9% 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.
Making and building: 32% of jobs based in Indianola
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Indianola, 2014 → 2024: 102 → 269. 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 Indianola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Indianola
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 Indianola, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Indianola is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #130 of 285 in Washington. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.9% across Washington, on an EPA index of 7.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,677 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 55% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 55% 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). 2.2% of Indianola households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Indianola’s commuters take a bus or train.
Indianola places 2,669th of 4,535 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,667 | Madison Township OH | 2,821 | $88K | 9.2% | 7.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,668 | Mountain Home AFB ID | 3,219 | $74K | 2.2% | 5.8% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,669 | Indianola WA | 3,468 | $99K | 8.2% | 5.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,670 | Pendleton SC | 3,739 | $62K | 21.8% | 2.5% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,671 | Laguna Vista TX | 3,780 | $64K | 21.8% | 1.1% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Indianola, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
How Indianola compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Suquamish (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Indianola’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 Indianola: questions
What is the median household income in Indianola?
$98,684 (±$7,578) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Indianola?
8.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Indianola?
38 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Indianola work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (17%, 12 mi), Bainbridge Island (9%, 8 mi), Poulsbo (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Indianola walkable?
Indianola is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Indianola without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 55% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Indianola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Indianola
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.