Photo: Kathy Calm · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Lacey top those of 68% of U.S. towns
Lacey grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. Poverty touches 11.6% of residents, against 9.9% across Washington. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.9 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
What the numbers say about work in Lacey
Lacey draws workers from far and wide
The 27,276 jobs in Lacey are filled from a wide area. Lacey’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Lacey has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lacey went from 18,455 in 2013 to 27,276 in 2023, +48%. 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.
Why Lacey gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lacey is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #170 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Lacey’s grade up ($90,625, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lacey could be anywhere from B− to B+.
22% of working residents work in Olympia
Where Lacey clocks in
22% of workers
8% 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.
What work there is in Lacey: 27,276 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lacey, 2013 → 2023: 18,455 → 27,276. 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 Lacey’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lacey fills up on a workday
On a workday 17,756 residents head out to work, 3,733 work right here, and 23,543 people come in from elsewhere.
About 65,000 people are in Lacey on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 25 minutes each way, about the WA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lacey workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,881 commuters (the 17% 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.
Lacey’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Lacey
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lacey is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #88 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 26,343 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 6.0% of Lacey households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lacey’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lacey is 480th of 749 U.S. towns of 41,000 to 79,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Sammamish WA | 66,110 | $240K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 478 | Yucaipa CA | 54,953 | $91K | 9.1% | 7.0% | 11% | B |
| 479 | Antelope CA | 48,301 | $99K | 10.6% | 8.5% | 4% | B |
| 480 | Lacey WA | 58,833 | $91K | 11.6% | 4.9% | 17% | B |
| 481 | Paramount CA | 50,755 | $75K | 12.6% | 5.7% | 7% | B |
| 482 | Sanford FL | 67,483 | $67K | 11.9% | 4.0% | 16% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | 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 Lacey, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Next door is work for 22% of Lacey
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lacey workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey | – | B | A | 25 min | $90,625 |
| Olympia | 22% | C+ | A+ | 20 min | $81,302 |
| Tanglewilde | under 1% | B | B | 28 min | $100,714 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Olympia. Darker towns draw more of Lacey’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 Lacey: questions
What is the median household income in Lacey?
$90,625 (±$5,956) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lacey?
11.6%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lacey?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lacey work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Olympia (22%, 5 mi), Tumwater (8%, 7 mi), Seattle (7%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lacey walkable?
Lacey is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lacey without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lacey, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lacey
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.