Grimm House · Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Lake Stevens commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns. 6,274 jobs are based in Lake Stevens; 20,026 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Lake Stevens are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lake Stevens, in a few figures
Lake Stevens workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 27 across Washington. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Lake Stevens has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lake Stevens went from 4,191 in 2014 to 6,274 in 2024, +50%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lake Stevens
76% of Lake Stevens residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 58% of the jobs based in Lake Stevens pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Lake Stevens empties out on a workday
About 28,000 people are in Lake Stevens on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than the 42,000 who live here: 19,000 head out to work and 4,900 come in. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lake Stevens
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Stevens is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #68 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Lake Stevens’ grade up ($122,336, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Stevens could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How long Lake Stevens spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Stevens workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,451 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.
What Lake Stevens’ employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Stevens, 2014 → 2024: 4,191 → 6,274. 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 Lake Stevens’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Lake Stevens for work, and who comes in
On a workday 18,688 residents head out to work, 1,338 work right here, and 4,936 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Lake Stevens on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
19% of working residents work in Everett
Where Lake Stevens clocks in
19% of workers
15% 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 Lake Stevens commutes less than 17 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.
Lake Stevens is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Stevens is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #107 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Lake Stevens 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 19,621 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 2.6% of Lake Stevens households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Lake Stevens’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Lake Stevens ranks: 350th of 1,054 U.S. towns of 29,000 to 57,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Issaquah WA | 39,423 | $155K | 5.2% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Elk Grove Village IL | 31,885 | $94K | 7.9% | 4.1% | 12% | A− |
| 349 | East Lansing MI | 49,355 | $46K | 33.0% | 6.6% | 18% | A− |
| 350 | Lake Stevens WA | 42,091 | $122K | 5.2% | 4.8% | 7% | A− |
| 351 | North Attleborough Town MA | 31,506 | $113K | 4.7% | 5.7% | 12% | A− |
| 352 | Voorhees Township NJ | 31,571 | $105K | 6.9% | 4.8% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,054 | 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 Lake Stevens, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
Around Lake Stevens: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Stevens workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Stevens | – | A− | A | 35 min | $122,336 |
| Machias | under 3% | A | B− | 27 min | $151,875 |
| Cavalero | under 3% | A+ | B | 41 min | $148,462 |
| Bunk Foss | under 3% | B+ | C | 30 min | $155,201 |
| Lake Cassidy | under 3% | A | C+ | 29 min | $113,403 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Stevens’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 Lake Stevens: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Stevens?
$122,336 (±$5,908) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Stevens?
5.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Stevens?
35 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Stevens work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Everett (19%, 5 mi), Seattle (15%, 29 mi), Bellevue (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Lake Stevens walkable?
Lake Stevens is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Stevens without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Stevens, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Stevens
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.