Pickering Farm · Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Issaquah have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
39% of workers have no commute at all, next to 20% for Washington as a whole. The poverty rate is 5.2%, against 9.9% across Washington. About one in ten work in Issaquah itself; outside it, Seattle draws the most (30%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Issaquah apart on work
Home offices are common in Issaquah
39% of Issaquah workers work from home, against 20% across Washington. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
83% of Issaquah’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 75% of the jobs based in Issaquah. The jobs ↓
Issaquah is where the jobs are
Issaquah has 29,847 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Issaquah has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Issaquah went from 20,810 in 2014 to 29,847 in 2024, +43%. The jobs ↓
30% of Issaquah works in Seattle
5,519 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Seattle, 15 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Issaquah itself. The commute map ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs & income in Issaquah: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Issaquah is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #23 of 285 in Washington. Household income is its strongest input ($154,669, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most 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, Issaquah could be anywhere from A to A+.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Issaquah
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Issaquah workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,363 commuters (the 39% 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.
75% of the jobs in Issaquah pay over $3,333 a month
29,847 jobs are based in Issaquah.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Issaquah, 2014 → 2024: 20,810 → 29,847. 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 Issaquah’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Issaquah, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 16,534 residents head out to work, 2,051 work right here, and 27,796 people come in from elsewhere.
About 51,000 people are in Issaquah on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 Issaquah’s workers come from
Where Issaquah clocks in
30% 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.
Half of Issaquah commutes less than 12 miles
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.
Issaquah is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 21,823 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 24.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 6.5% of Issaquah households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Issaquah’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,064 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 53,000, Issaquah comes 109th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | North Bethesda MD | 49,677 | $129K | 5.2% | 3.6% | 9% | A |
| 108 | Moraine Township IL | 34,725 | $154K | 6.0% | 3.5% | 12% | A |
| 109 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| 110 | Haverford Township PA | 50,997 | $132K | 3.4% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| 111 | Homer Township IL | 41,948 | $136K | 4.5% | 4.0% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | Lake Stevens WA | 42,091 | $122K | 5.2% | 4.8% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,064 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Issaquah, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Work next door: 15% of Issaquah’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Bellevue. Darker towns draw more of Issaquah’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 Issaquah: questions
What is the median household income in Issaquah?
$154,669 (±$13,820) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Issaquah?
5.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Issaquah?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 39% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Issaquah work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (30%, 15 mi), Bellevue (15%, 6 mi), Redmond (12%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Issaquah walkable?
Issaquah is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Issaquah without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Issaquah, from the people who make the trip.
More of Issaquah
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.